


Revolution

by GrimalkinInTheSewers



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Original Character(s), Translation, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-02-14 10:18:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 52,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2188062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimalkinInTheSewers/pseuds/GrimalkinInTheSewers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from. Don't underrate it" - Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid‘s Tale</p><p>Based on Star Trek Deep Space Nine and the novel ‘A Stitch in Time’ by Andrew Robinson</p><p>This is a story of Cardassia, Cardassians, and people around them. One of the main characters is, obviously, Garak. This is, just to point it out, AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Gene Roddenberry invented Star Trek. His whole universe belongs to Paramount, even the island called Deep Space Nine. I do not earn money with this story.
> 
> Additional comments: Please read the warnings/tags. This is a translation of my German story, which has 13 chapters and is finished. However, I’m not a fast translator, so this may take some time. I also apologize for any errors; I don’t have a Beta (but would appreciate one should someone volunteer).

### Deep Space Nine, 2380

Colonel Kira Nerys watched the dark space through her office window, lost in thought. A freighter was in the process of docking. It was Cardassian, a rarity these days. The borders were still closed. It probably came from one of the colonies this side of the border. Officially, Cardassia was still busy with its reconstruction. Unofficially? Who knew. Sometimes, she allowed herself to be impressed by the Cardassians ant-like sense of community. She could not admire it. All of them working towards the same goal – it was disquieting. Bajorans were not like that. They argued, found agreements, achieved for a while great things together, and then argued again. This was the way it should be. People throwing around ‘we’s as if their whole society was one uniform entity made her nervous. She just knew that there was something very wrong with them. This was probably the reason why it took her so long to get used to the Federation. She did not trust perfect things. Just as well that she knew by now that the big brother was anything but perfect.

Bajor was once more talking about joining. She already knew it would go nowhere. Anyhow, the upcoming election of the new Kai was a far more interesting topic for most.

Kira turned around as someone came into the office, and smiled as she recognized the brunette woman. Mael Kora was the station’s new Chief of Security. Kira had appointed her against much opposition, in, with hindsight, a fit of pique. Mael was a petite woman with pale blue eyes that made many people nervous. Sometimes people underestimated her because of her size, but they usually came to regret it. The woman was rude and headstrong, and occasionally offensive. Kira enjoyed her attitude, probably because she had been quite similar when she was younger.

Mael had never been a member of the Bajoran military. There were some rumors that she had worked for Bajoran intelligence, but of course no one confirmed it. She had some Federation contacts, which occasionally came in useful. Mael’s father had been a prominent resistance leader, and the Cardassians had tried for years to hunt him down. Kira had heard stories about him even before she joined Shakaar. Mael Ner and his followers had been heroes. Unfortunately, this fame had incensed the Cardassians, and in the end they had caught him, and had executed him and most of his followers. Mael, then barely six years old, had escaped with her younger sister and hidden in a monastery. Later, just like Kira herself, she joined the underground as soon as she was able to carry a weapon. Other than Kira, however, she was caught and had been imprisoned in a labor camp until the end of the occupation. When she had asked Kira for a job she had not expected much, but she made an excellent Chief of Security.

Even though no one could replace Odo. Kira forced down the bitterness that welled up inside her when she thought about it. She had told him that she understood why he left. She did, in some way. Another, completely selfish part of her was unable to understand why he had left her for a society of murderers. She had tried to think differently, but she could not really believe that the changelings would reform. Her inner voice of reason screamed that healing them would end in disaster.

Perhaps she had appointed Mael because the woman was completely different from Odo. Perhaps she had appointed her because the Starfleet security officer had infuriated her. Admiral Necheyev refused to speak with her ever since she had fired him. Kira did not regret it. On the contrary, she had rarely felt that good about something. She had enjoyed making – for once – a completely irrational, emotional decision.

‘A passenger of the freighter that just docked wants to talk to you’, said Mael. ‘A Cardassian, he says you know each other.’

Kira frowned. There were few Cardassians whom she remembered fondly. Some had become familiar during the war. They had fought together. Some of them had gained her respect. ‘He was on the Cardassian freighter?’

‘No, he came with the Terelians. His name is Garak.’

Kira was surprised, by the name as well as by his choice of transport. ‘Garak? What in the name of the fire caves does he want?’

.

Garaks smile was as insincere as she remembered. She forced herself to remember that he had been on their side during the war. It was necessary to contain her intense dislike.

Kira did not like the Cardassian. Not necessarily because of what he was, more because of who he was. What Kira hated was Garak’s falsely submissive demeanor. It was nothing but a lie. How could she take his ‘plain and simple’ at face value when she had seen him murder people without a second thought? It mattered little that his victims had been her enemies. He was like a pretty, poisonous snake. You were cautious when you first encountered it, but after some time you became complacent, and that was when it killed you. It was the essence of all Cardassians, the main reason she hated them.

‘Colonel Kira. It is a pleasure to see you again.’

‘The pleasure is yours’, she said brusquely. ‘You asked to speak with me. What do you want, Garak?’

‘What unexpected hostility, Colonel. And here I thought we had become allies. I had expected better from you.’ Coming from Garak, the words made it obvious that he had never expected anything from her, ever. As much as he groveled and smiled, Kira heard nothing but the same old Cardassian arrogance.

‘Get to the point’, she said, annoyed.

‘Impatient as usual. The Bajoran aversion to civilized conversation has always confounded me.’ Garak raised his hands; obviously he realized she was angry. ‘Very well. No need to revisit old antipathies. I’m just a simple messenger.’

 _Nothing about you is ever simple, Garak._ Kira did not say it out loud. Instead she took a deep breath. The years had thought her some diplomacy, after all. ‘You have a message from the Cardassian government?’

‘Indeed. It is neither very outrageous nor suprising, I suppose.’ He handed her a Cardassian data rod. ‘Just the usual petition to stop the trade blockade.’

Kira took the data rod with distaste. Stop of the trade blockade, indeed. The Cardassians had demanded this several times now, even though it had been them who had closed the borders. The trade blockade was the answer to a complete refusal to partake in constructive negotiations after the war. As long as the stance of the Cardassian government on reparations did not change, the answer to their demand was obvious.

‘And they send you, because…’

‘I offered.’ Garak smiled his lying smile. ‘You won’t believe me, but after a few months at home I have started to miss this station. That aside, Cardassia has become a rather dark and inhospitable place recently.’

“You have tired rather quickly of your homeworld for someone who claims to be a patriot.”

Kira thought she saw a spark of anger in Garak’s eyes, but his face did not change. “You know what they say about patriotism, Colonel. Someone who truly serves his people is not bound in place, only in his soul.”

Kira snorted disparagingly and turned the data rod towards the light. It looked genuine. ‘Your kind of patriotism has always somewhat disconcerted me, Garak.’

‘A feeling I share wholeheartedly, Colonel. It was, as always, a riveting experience to meet with you. I assume you don’t require me for anything else.’

‘No. Unless you have more to say.’

Garak smiled. At first glance, it seemed simple courtesy, but his contempt was plain to her. Like many Cardassians, he thought her inferior, and merely played with her for his entertainment. He just hid it better than most other Cardassians. To be honest, she was surprised by the lack of subterfuge he displayed today.

‘A lot, but I fear it would not interest you much, Colonel. Meeting your approval, I will leave and enjoy the ambience. Everything on this station changes so quickly. You leave a few months and hardly recognize anything. It is a very intriguing phenomenon.’

‘If you think so’, said Kira coldly. ‘Please, I won’t keep you.’

Garak rose and bowed. ‘I hope your day will be as interesting as mine will certainly be. Goodbye.’

When he had left, Kira frowned. She decided to ask Julian if he had heard something from the former tailor recently. Ezri had told her that the two stayed in contact.

The door opened and Chief Mael looked inside. ‘Is your Cardassian gone?’

Kira growled. ‘He is in no way my Cardassian. Any day he disappears into the dark is a day to late.’

Mael laughed. ‘It is so easy to rile you up, Nerys. Don’t play the game of that spoonhead. You are better than he is.’ She became serious. ‘Do you want me to put some of my people on his trail, see what he’s up to?’

Kira hesitated a moment, before she shook her head. ‘No. I don’t like him, but I doubt he will be trouble. He is just annoying, that’s all.’

Mael frowned, but nodded. ‘No matter what else he is, he’s a Cardi’, she said. ‘They are always trouble.’

### Cardassian penal colony Mantissek, 17 years earlier

Elim Garak stumbled when the guards pushed him forward onto the transport platform. His trial had been only two days ago, and the pain from the interrogation before lingered. Nobody had thought to heal him. Why would they? He was a condemned murderer. One could say that the murder had been self-defense, but that was not what he had confessed. He had confessed that he had killed Barkan Lokar out of jealousy. Unfortunately, that was not even a lie. Elim had loved Lokar’s wife Palandine since they had attended Bamarren together. It had been ridiculously easy to seduce her while her husband was stationed on Bajor. Not just because he loved her and she was lonely, but also because he hated Barkan, and this was the perfect revenge. However, her husband had discovered their affair. In hindsight Elim knew how incredibly stupid the whole thing had been, but it was done. It had cost him his career, Tain’s support, and ultimately his freedom. One month ago he had been the unofficial heir of Enabran Tain, second in command of the Obsidian Order, and now he was nothing. All this due to a woman who had never even considered leaving her husband for him. He was a fool. He probably deserved his fate for his stupidity alone.

Elim knew to well what awaited him. Mantissek was a closed penal colony on a barely habitable planet. It meant that there were no real guards there. All prisoners in the colony had been sentenced for life. Some prisoners acted as guards for the promise that their sentence would be reduced. It never happened, even if they did not know that. The other prisoners always killed them first. There were a number of such installations; they had proven to be very efficient. This one was an ore mine. There was an ore processing station in the orbit of another planet nearby, and the colony probably had a small freighter that had just enough energy to reach the station. Only one or two people in the colony would be able to use this ship and leave the planet, all others would die if they tried. It was a place of no return.

Elim looked down to avoid the smirk of the guards when the transporter activated.

He appeared in a bare room in front of two women. One of them was a blonde Bajoran, who was wearing a gun, which made her obviously one of the guards. As if her presence wouldn’t be surprise enough! Bajorans were very rare in these camps. If they committed a crime that deserved such punishment, they were usually executed. He had no time to solve this mystery.

‘Undress.’ the Bajoran ordered coldly. ‘And while you do that, state your name and crime.’

Elim hesitated only a moment before he obeyed. He doubted that she would kill him immediately, but she could do much worse to him if she wanted. He was tempted to lie, but discarded this thought quickly. He was sure they already knew the information. ‘Elim Garak.’ he said. ‘I was sentenced for murder.’

‘Elim Garak?’

Elim looked at her. The voice of the Bajoran held a mixture of disbelief and glee. She laughed. He did not like that laugh; it disconcerted him. She sounded as if she knew him, and that… that was impossible, he hadn’t used his own name in ages.

The Cardassian woman scanned him with a medical tricorder, and he realized that she had to be a doctor, or at least someone with medical knowledge who fulfilled that role in this place.

“It won’t take long to heal him.’ she said. ‘Only superficial wounds. Some nerve damage, but I can give him something for that.’

‘The implant first, Dr. Komar.’ the Bajoran said.

Elim realized that this was the way they kept the prisoners on the planet. In other camps they used chemicals to create addictions. This was better than he had expected. Implants could be removed.

Dr. Komar took an injector and stepped behind him. Elim lowered his head when she pressed it against his neck. He gasped when sharp pain exploded along his spine.

‘The implant has connected to your spinal cord.’ the Bajoran said without emotion. ‘If you try to leave this place, it will create an energy pulse that will kill you instantly. If you try to attack me, I will make sure you feel pain like never before in your life. Should you succeed to kill me, you will die along with everyone else in this place.” She leant against the wall and smiled coldly. ‘My name is Gul Raghman. My word is law here. Do you know why I’m here, looking like a trice-damned Bajoran, Elim Garak? Your father did me that favour. Looks like today is my lucky day.’ She laughed again. ‘I will have so much fun with you.’

Elim closed his eyes. This was it. As if his life was not ruined enough, he was now at the mercy of a woman who had been wronged by Tain. Not only that, she also knew who he really was, which told him that she was a former agent of the Obsidian Order; one who had at one point in the past had a high enough clearance to find out that Tain had an illegitimate son. A professional. A professional who had fucked something up so badly that Tain hated her enough to send her to a prison camp looking like a Bajoran; almost a guarantee that she would be raped and killed. Elim did not know her, but he knew her name. There had been a Legate Raghman who had died a few years ago. Yes, he was well and truly doomed.

Elim felt the last days catching up with him. He had lost everything that mattered to him, he had been tortured, and he had not slept for days. This was just the final straw. He had always thought himself a fighter, but more than that he was a survivor. He wanted to survive, and avoid pain if possible. He fell to his knees. This was what Tain had wanted after his betrayal (or what his father had thought was betrayal); he wanted to see him break. Elim had not given him that. He had confessed, yes, but he had accepted his sentence with pride and disdain. He was a patriot, yes, but for this very reason he despised the corrupt justice system. If Tain had wanted it, they would have let him go. Because Tain did not care, they had ruled in favor of the family that had a well-known name and influence. Had he ever believed that Cardassian justice was infallible? That seemed centuries ago. Now, there were only shards left of his pride, and all he felt was despair. ‘I’m not my father.’ he pleaded. ‘I mean nothing to him. He is the very reason I am here! I can understand your wish for revenge, Gul, but if you hurt me, you will not hurt him. On the contrary, it is exactly what he wants.’

‘I would say the same if I were you.’ she said with amusement.

‘Would I be here if I meant anything to him?’ he shouted desperately. ‘Just a word from him, and all accusations against me would have vanished. You know that!’ He froze. A few horrible seconds the thought came to him that this might be one of Tain’s games. He had never before admitted their relationship, not even under torture.

The woman considered him. ‘True. After everything he did to make you his successor, I would have thought you mean more to him. You must have disappointed him immensely.”

Elim flinched.

‘What have you done?’ she asked sweetly. ‘Tell me.’

Elim could guess what she felt. She wanted to know what had made Tain so angry. He would give her what she wanted if it would save him. ‘I fell in love with a woman’, he said. ‘She was married. He ordered me to end the affair, but I didn’t. Her husband found out. He tried to kill me, but I overpowered him and killed him first. The man was a high ranking member of our government. My father felt betrayed.’

‘That was to be expected.’ Raghman smirked. ‘Let me sum that up: You, the bastard child he let survive against all better judgment, the nobody he has sponsored all his life, his only chance to have an heir, threw it all away - for a woman? You murdered a member of the government, for a woman? Not only that, but you were so sloppy that you were caught? That makes my day. Thank you.’

Her words were like a stab in the gut. Elim had not seen it this way, but now he realized that she was right. Most Cardassians abandoned their illegitimate children, or killed them immediately after they were born. His father had not done that. He had given him a false identity, raised him in his own house. Perhaps he could have married Elims mother, but that would have made them a target for all who wanted to harm his father. Elim had always known this, he had accepted that their relationship had to remain a secret forever. When his father had told him that he thought him a traitor, Elim had not really understood what he meant. After all, what bearing had his relationship with Palandine on his loyalty? He had made a stupid mistake, but treason? Now, however, he understood. He had destroyed everything his father had worked for. He hadn’t betrayed the Order, but he had betrayed his family, his heritage. He now realized that he had never really considered Tain his father. His mentor, maybe, but not his father. Tain on the other hand had always seen him as a son, the son who would one day continue his work. Sentimental, in some way, and Elim had always thought Tain was beyond all sentimentalities. Obviously his father had allowed himself this one weakness. Elim had failed to understand that. Now it was too late. After all that had happened, Tain would hate him even more for his own weakness. He felt sick.

Raghman studied him. Her gaze held a mixture of satisfaction and pity. ‘Enabran got what he deserved. He never trusted anyone, he always considered everyone replaceable. He played that role well enough that even his own son believed it. Poetic justice, in a way.’ She sneered. ‘Unfortunately for you, I have to admit that I’m a vindictive woman. What is more, even if you don’t believe that you mean anything to your father, I know better. I’m sure if he hadn’t already planned to bring you back, he will decide to do so soon enough. You are, after all, the only child he will ever have.”

Elim looked at her. He had not known that. He wondered who this woman was, and why he had never heard of her.

Raghman eyes lingered on him and Elim was suddenly very aware that he was kneeling naked in front of her. ‘I like what I see.’ She stepped towards him and squatted down to look at him more closely. Her eyes had a startling, intense blue color, that was a bit disconcerting. It might have been artificial, but Elim thought it wasn’t. The Raghman family was from the southern province, and the color had once been frequent there. Raghman trailed her finger along his face and he had to force himself to remain still. ‘You don’t look a lot like him. It’s not obvious. You got your forehead from your mother, I assume. Has he had your eye color changed? I suppose you wouldn’t remember.’ Her hand moved along his neck and to his breast. ‘Yet there are similarities…’

Elim was silent. What could he say to that? He had never really thought about it, and his mother had never commented on it. If his uncle had not told him the truth when he died, he would have probably never known.

‘Good.’ she said, and rose. ‘Heal him, and give him something to wear. I will send someone to bring him into the mine.’

Elim had all but forgotten the doctor and he was relieved when Raghman turned around and left. It seemed like she had decided to leave him alone for now, but he would not lie to himself; he knew that would not last.

### Subspace message, 2376

Dear Garak,

I don’t know if you will ever read this letter. Communications with Cardassian space have become almost impossible. I was told the subspace relay on Cardassia IV can sometimes get in contact with the outermost colonies, so I’m hoping that this message will find its way to you somehow. Colonel Kira told me that you survived the last fights on the planet. I hope you are alright. I have to admit that I miss our weekly lunches and discussions.

I don’t know how many news you get from the rest of the alpha quadrant, but a lot of things have changed on this station since you left. You probably heard what happened to Captain Sisko. Colonel Kira is in command now. Miles decided to teach at Starfleet Academy, and Commander Worf has become the new Federation ambassador to Quo’nos. Odo has left the station as well; he will try to negotiate a permanent peace with the founders. We can only hope that he will be successful. The situation is still tense, although all seems quiet for now. Everyone is waiting for something to happen. It seems almost surreal that the war is over.

As I have already mentioned we do not get many news from Cardassia. I can only assume and hope that you have started to rebuild. The latest statistics we got were horrible; I wish I could help somehow. Please write something if it is at all possible. It would make me feel better to know you are well.

Julian Bashir, Deep Space Nine


	2. Chapter 2

### Deep Space Nine, 2369

Elim arranged the dresses in his shop. It was almost closing time, and unlikely that more customers would come in this day. Business had been poor in the last few months. Most Bajorans did not buy his wares, and members of Starfleet relied way too much on their replicators. He did not understand it, to be honest. Replicated fabric always felt uncomfortable, and he would never wear it as long as he could afford better. His usual customers were merchants and other visitors of the station.

Elim had made more profit when the station was owned by Cardassians. He missed the darker light and warmer temperature. What he did very much not miss were his kind, especially not Skrain Dukat. Everything was almost worth it to be rid of him. Almost.

Elim touched one of the dresses he was particularly proud of. He was a good tailor, to his own surprise. Sometimes he it seemed incredible that he had been here for two years. It was surprising in many ways. He had once doubted that he would survive that long. It had surprised him when Tain had sent him into exile. It had surprised him that Dukat had not killed him as soon as he got hold of him. It had surprised him that he could get used to the humiliation. It had surprised him that the Bajorans had let him live and that the Federation had let him stay. Years full of surprises, which had passed before he really noticed it. The fact that he was a good tailor was almost trivial, considering.

Elim thought of the somewhat naïve federation doctor he had started to share lunches with recently. Dr. Bashir was amusing and useful. Through him, Elim had gained favor with the Commander of the station, and he had managed to foil a Kohn-Ma conspiracy. In addition, Bashir loved to talk, and Elim had learned a lot about the private habits of the command staff and their relationships to each other. Admittedly, this knowledge was biased, but it was better than ignorance.

Elim wrote reports to the Obsidian Order, even if though they probably did not care. It was good to have some purpose. If he thought about it objectively, he knew that he was lying to himself. He was a tailor, and most likely that was all he would ever be. There were days when he accepted that, and then there were nights when he lay awake, consumed by helpless rage, until he switched on his implant and it disappeared.

He was distracted by a customer who stepped into his shop, a Bajoran woman with blue hair, heavy make-up and blue-tinted glasses. She was wearing boots and a dark coverall. Elim could not remember seeing her before.

She immediately started to look through the dresses on display. Most likely she did not know who owned the store and had not seen him when she walked in. Elim inwardly sighed and prepared himself for what would inevitably happen once she realized who he was.

The woman turned around and held up a green dress made from tholian silk. ‘Do you think this works for me?’

Elim gaped at her. He had expected another reaction.

She frowned. ‘Not my color, right? I knew it.’ She took another, purple, dress. ‘What about this one?’

He regained his composure. ‘It’s a little bit short.’

‘Oh, I like them short.’ She threw the dress on the counter. ‘My ship has moved from planet to planet for months. Business was good, but I did not get the chance to buy any decent clothes. I hate the replicated stuff!’ She touched one of the dresses. ‘I like this one. What kind of fabric is it?’

‘Ikarian wool. A very good quality.’ He looked at the dress she had chosen. ‘Yellow is not your color, but I have a similar one in blue.’

‘Very good. You know, I hope you will be around for a while, I will surely visit again. I’ve been in Federation space for too long, those people replicate _everything_. It’s atrocious.’

The Bajoran talked a lot, but she also bought a lot. Elim listened to her patiently and answered her when it was expected. Apparently she was a trader. She commanded a ship with a larger crew – the ship was big enough to contain a mess hall and an engineering room. In the past months she had traveled deep into Federation space, far enough to reach Earth, which she thought a very boring planet. She had missed the end of the occupation, but did not regret that.

‘I stayed far away during that time, no offense.’ she said.

Elim did not comment on that, and packed her purchases.

‘Aren’t you lonely, being the only Cardassian on this station?’ she asked when he handed her the bag.

‘It can be challenging occasionally,’ he said lightly ‘but I have always been interested in other cultures. This station offers a unique opportunity to learn more about other species.’

The Bajoran smiled. ‘You are a xenophile? How unusual. I have to admit that makes me curious.’ She leant seductively against the counter. ‘You know, all these months in space can be very lonely. I would be happy for some companionship. If you are interested, tell me your room and a time and I will be there.’

For a moment, Elim was so flabbergasted that he did not know what to say. A Bajoran who did not mind buying from him was one thing, but this? Was it a joke, or did she have ulterior motives?

She smiled, apparently amused by his surprise. ‘I know this is difficult to believe, but I promise you, my offer is sincere. I don’t care that you are Cardassian; or rather, it is part of the appeal. Don’t tell it to my fellow Bajorans… it’s out of fashion at the moment.’

Elim thought about it for a moment. This was an interesting development. She was a pretty woman, even though he did not care much for Bajorans. She was right, life on this station had been lonely, and if she told the truth he would certainly welcome it. If, which was indefinitely more likely, she was an assassin who wanted to kill him, it would at least make his life more interesting. He wrote his room number and a time on a slip of paper, and put it in her bag. ‘How could I say no to a beautiful woman like you?’

She smiled and took her bag. ‘See you later, Mister Garak.’

He only realized when she had left that she had, despite all her talk, never told him her name.

.

Elim left early that day. If the Bajoran planned to kill him, it was better to be prepared. Life on this station was difficult at times, but he was not suicidal yet. Aside from that, it might have been years since he had been an operative of the Obsidian Order, but it would have still hurt his pride to fall for such a cheap trick. When he was finished, he settled down to read a book until the chime of the computer told him someone was at the door.

The Bajoran was wearing the short, purple dress she had bought earlier. He had to admit she wore it well, and it left little to the imagination. She could not hide a phaser or a similar sized weapon with this outfit. There were of course less obvious ways to kill someone. Elim invited her in, and she stepped into his quarters with a smile and sat down on the couch.

‘It’s cozy.’ She looked at his book, but put it back immediately when she read the title. He was unsurprised. One could hardly expect a Bajoran to appreciate classic Cardassian literature.

He replicated two glasses of wine and put one in front of her, sitting down across from her. ‘I realized I did not catch your name earlier.’

She leant back and smiled. ‘You are so polite. How refreshing. My name is Solinas Corian.’

A Cardassian first name for a Bajoran? While this had not been unusual during the occupation, it was very rare that a Bajoran kept such a name after the Cardassians had left Bajor. It was a sure sign her parents had been collaborators. He relaxed a little and let his eyes roam over her flawless legs. ‘My first name is Elim.’

She smirked. ‘I know, Elim.’

Elim hesitated. He suddenly had a new, unpleasant suspicion – maybe she was not a Bajoran assassin, but an agent of the Obsidian Order. He had no idea why Tain might have suddenly decided to get rid of him, but he had always had a hard time predicting Tains moods. That complicated things. He had expected an amateur, not a professional. ‘Who are you?’ he asked, tensing. His best chance was to distract her until he got the chance to eliminate her.

The Bajoran sighed, and took of her glasses. ‘You really have to ask? I haven’t changed that much.’

He almost dropped his glass, and cursed when he spilled wine on his trousers. The mixture of panic and anger he felt almost paralyzed him. How had he not recognized her? It was true, she had not changed much. Different voice, make-up, blue hair – but her face was still the same. Her cold blue eyes he would never forget. ‘I thought you were dead!’ He had hoped she was dead.

Raghman's smile widened. ‘The reports of my demise were greatly exaggerated. I could say the same.’

‘And I could answer the same,’ he said, incensed. He had almost died when the mine blew up. If he hadn’t been deep underground… Even so he had been trapped for two weeks below the collapsed mine with just enough air to survive, until Tain had found him. It was one of the worst memories of his life, and he had many bad memories. ‘Why are you here?’

‘Am I not allowed to visit an old friend?’ she asked mockingly.

Elim clenched his fists. It took all of his self-control to not kill her that very moment. She would have taken care to tell someone where she was. A dead Bajoran in his quarters was the last thing he needed. Something she knew, of course.

She took the glass of wine and took a sip. ‘Honestly, I was happy to see you again. The old man was grateful when I told him where you were, but after that I decided to disappear. Things became a little too exciting, and his moods are so unpredictable.’

She had told Tain where he was? As if his father hadn’t known that already. She had told him that Elim was still alive, he realized. It was her who had ordered him to climb down that shaft.

‘You caused the explosion!’ he said angrily. There was no other explanation. That would also explain how she escaped. Being the commandant of the camp she could leave it with the freighter. How she got rid of the implant after that he couldn’t guess, but obviously she had.

Raghman grinned. “I was always good at blowing things up.’

Elim had never asked Tain about her. He hadn’t had the chance; Tain had been too quick to exile him to Terok Nor. ‘What do you want?’ he repeated his question.

The hand resting on her knee slowly trailed up the outside of her thigh, moving the hem of the dress higher. ‘To keep you company.’

‘You definitely don’t want that,’ he said, enraged.

She raised a brow. Even back then her Bajoran expressions had been close to perfect, and she had improved them over the years. ‘I’m very much in the mood for your mood, Elim.’

He got up abruptly, grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. She dropped her glass and the wine ran into the carpet. He did not care.

‘You’re still the same Bajoran whore.’ His heart was pounding and he felt feverish, he wasn’t quite sure anymore what he was doing. Part of him wanted to kill her, another part was frozen in fear, and somehow this mixture aroused him. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to fuck her. He wanted to hurt her, conquer her… perhaps that was all one and the same.

She laughed. ‘Whores are paid. If I’m not mistaken, _I_ paid _you_.’

Elim shook her, but she didn’t stop laughing, and was still laughing when he dragged her into his bedroom. ‘I wonder how long you will keep on thinking this is funny!’

She licked her lips. ‘Give me your best, boy.’

He pushed her down on the bed, hardly able to breathe through rage and lust. ‘You would not survive my _best_ , Bajora.’

### Cardassian Capital, 2375

Mila was dead, and above them Jem’Hadar were destroying the city. Elim was consumed by helpless anger. The situation seemed hopeless. When would his people realize that the alliance with the Dominion had been a mistake? Raghman had once said the only way to restore Cardassia to greatness would be an assassination of Central Command and everyone who supported it. That had been a joke, at least he thought so. At the moment it seemed the Dominion would grant her the wish. The situation was preposterous; he could hardly believe that he was crawling through ruins with Damar and a former terrorist. His mother was dead. It hurt. In this moment, he didn’t think his people deserved his dedication. Where were the Cardassians who fought for Cardassia and stood up against the Dominion? Where were those who remembered who they were? How was it possible that he was here alone with a Bajoran?

But was he alone? He thought back to the soldiers who had saved him, Kira and Damar from execution. Perhaps they were not the only ones. Perhaps there was still hope. Kira had told him to fight for a new Cardassia. The same thing Raghman had said. In this moment, he could not believe in that. The only thing he felt was a desire for revenge.

When they left the house, he saw how more buildings in the city were destroyed, and wondered what the rest of the planet looked like. Did he really want to know? While he thought that, the sky lit up with the blinding light of an explosion, and streaks of fire rained down. Almost at the same time the attack on the city stopped. It looked like a meteor shower, but Elim knew better when it happened a second time, and a third.

‘What is this?’ asked Kira, astonished.

Damar leant his head to the side, obviously unsure, even though he should know. On the other hand, Damar was young. He had probably never seen such destruction.

‘The orbital weapon platforms’, Elim said. ‘It seems they are destroying each other.’ He felt an irrational hope.

‘Perhaps our fleet has finally joined the allies,’ said Damar, and his words reflected the same hope. ‘Perhaps this is the turning point.’

‘Let’s hope that’s true,’ said Kira, but she frowned. ‘We have to reach the headquarters. As long as the founders control the planet...’

Elim nodded. Kira was a good strategist; she knew a few deserters would not turn the war. But they were still twenty minutes away from their target, even if the buildings further down in the city’s center were already visible.

He was about to reply when suddenly the air above them shimmered, and a ship became visible. It was the size of a small raider, but it was no Jem’Hadar ship.

They went for cover anyways, but the ship ignored them. Instead of attacking them it turned towards the buildings in front of them and fired several times. The force of the explosion was strong enough to throw them all through the air. Elim screamed when a ball of fire raced over them. When he stumbled back on his feet it was raining ashes and the air was burning hot. In the place where the headquarters compound had been were a smoldering crater and puddles of liquid metal. The buildings around it had disappeared. For a moment he stared disbelievingly at the devastation.

Someone tugged on his arm. It was Kira, even though he hardly recognized her at first. She looked like something from a nightmare, burnt skin, covered with ashes. He could not understand what she was saying, and it took a moment until he realized the bang of the explosion had deafened him.

Elim looked around. Most Cardassians who had been with them were still alive, but he quickly realized that it would not stay that way for long. With the founder dead, the Jem’Hadar would annihilate the planet. As if they wanted to confirm his thought, two Jem’Hadar ships appeared above them at exactly that moment.

Kira screamed, what he did not know, but the meaning was clear. They ran, in the vain hope to escape. There was no save place left, around them the city went up in flames. Buildings right and left of them were in ruins. They all had burns, and part of him knew that only terror kept them moving. Not much later a building behind them was hit, and Elim and Kira watched helplessly as Damar and two other Cardassians were buried under the rubble.

Elim gasped for air. He was close to giving up, sure that he would not survive the next hour. The pain was suddenly unbearable, and he was sure he couldn’t walk another step. Then, unexpectedly, the first phaser beam from orbit was caught by a shield. It was so inconceivable, that he at first couldn’t believe what he saw. Kira’s gaze was as disbelieving as his own. It seemed like a miracle…

But he suddenly realized what had happened. The control of the planetary shields had been at headquarters. After the destruction of the headquarter compound they should have been permanently inactive… but there was probably another control center… of course there was another control center! What a fool he was! Surely the constructors had installed a fail-safe. The headquarter compound was supposed to have been indestructible, but you always had to think of the impossible. It was likely that only the head of Central Command knew of it. Why had Damar not known? Perhaps he had simply assumed that it was useless as long as main headquarters existed. Now however that was no problem. That meant all Cardassian weapon platforms in orbit – the whole planetary defense system - was now in control of whoever was controlling the planetary shields.

Elim laughed, and only regained his composure when Kira shook him and pointed upwards. He quickly realized what she was thinking. They had to find a way to communicate with the allied fleet. It was likely that subspace transmissions would work now.

He needed a moment until he could think clearly. His pain was disappearing and he felt euphoric – his implant was finally doing its work. Then he suddenly knew what they had to do. The university had a subspace transmitter. If it was still intact… He took Kira’s arm and dragged her along.

As they were running, the noises around them slowly returned, and with them his hope that they might save Cardassia after all.

### Deep Space Nine, 2369

Elim moved one of his pieces. He could already tell that Bashir’s king would be in checkmate in ten moves. He privately thought chess was a very boring and predictable game, even though he had not told the doctor this. Perhaps he should try to loose instead of win. That might be the greater challenge. Why did humans think a game like chess, which was based on utterly logical principles, and could be played by any computer, was such a great invention? It was one of the peculiarities of the human mind he still didn’t understand. He also failed to understand why Bashir loved to play against him although he always lost.

Elim had tried to understand them through their literature. He had even learned the language in the assumption that it was the translation that kept him from seeing what Bashir saw. It had not helped. Humans were irrational, sentimental, gullible, and, against all logic, successful despite all this. How had they ever become one of the most powerful races in the quadrant?

‘The Bajoran you had lunch with yesterday, is she one of your customers?’

Perhaps it was curiosity, although Bashir seemed to have more of that than other members of his species.

‘She is a friend.’

‘I was not aware you had such good relations with Bajorans.’

Elim kept himself from uttering the first reply that came to his mind. Bashir lacked all tact, a trait which usually amused him. ‘And why not, Doctor? I have a number of Bajoran customers, and they appreciate my courteousness. A good tailor is hard to find. In addition I am, as you know, a skilled conversationalist.’

Bashir studied him for a moment, not sure what he should answer to that.

Elim smiled. ‘Checkmate, Doctor. Like always, I have enjoyed our lunch, but I have to leave now.’

Bashir looked confused, then hurt. ‘I apologize. I did not want to pry.’

‘Did I give you the impression that I thought you did? I promise you, I didn’t. I have an appointment with a customer in five minutes, and it would be very impolite to let him wait, don’t you agree?’

The doctor seemed reassured. ‘Of course, don’t let me keep you.’

Elim almost laughed. ‘Have a good day, doctor.’

After he had turned away, he thought about their conversation. It was true that he had an appointment; otherwise he could have played a while longer with Bashir. The human was so easily disconcerted. It didn’t surprise Elim that he had seen him with the Bajoran, they were after all an unusual pair. He just hadn’t decided yet which lie he would tell this time.


	3. Chapter 3

### Cardassian penal colony Mantissek, 2362

‘Elim Garak?’

Elim looked up. He had just finished his shift. He had showered, and was in the middle of getting dressed. On the first day he had been surprised that the camp had showers and laundry machines that were used every day. By now he assumed it was made possible by the hot climate of this planet, which provided solar power, and its high water table, which gave them an easily replenished water supply. When the mine had been build, the water had been pumped out and now filled an underground lake nearby.

He had been in the camp for six weeks now, and he wasn’t as exhausted as in the beginning. Like in other such facilities, the mine was almost solely worked by prisoners. Machines would have provided higher returns, but that was of course not the purpose of this place.

‘The commander wants to see you.’

Elim froze for a moment. He had half hoped Raghman had forgotten him, because he hadn’t heard anything from her for weeks. Stupid. He nodded resignedly, and rose.

The wardens were equipped with energy weapons, but so far he had not seen them in use. There were surprisingly few conflicts, unusual for a colony like this. There had to be a reason for this. As far as he had observed, the prisoners respected the wardens, and one word was usually enough to end any dispute.

The warden led him to the upper part of the complex. ‘Take of your shoes before you enter her rooms,’ he said, and left.

Elim looked after him with mild astonishment. The man obviously trusted him to do what he was told. He looked around. This was a regular, if run-down, Cardassian office building. The windows were painted over with black paint to keep out the planet’s blinding sunlight. It was obvious that no-one had invested much in these buildings. He took of his shoes and opened the door. The room he entered was an office full of surveillance monitors which showed different parts of the mine. It shouldn’t surprise him, even if he hadn’t seen any cameras. On one side of the room were a couch, two armchairs, and a table. On the other side, opposite of the door, Raghman sat in an office chair behind a large desk. She was leaning back in the chair and had her feet propped up on the desk while she was talking to someone on the monitor in front of her whom he couldn’t see.

‘I would love to take those Bajorans off your hands, but you know it is not my decision. Perhaps you should talk to Legate Evek.’

She laughed at her conversation partner’s reply, which Elim couldn’t hear. He saw that she was wearing a headset. Ancient technology. ‘You know that they have to release me first if you want to get to me. There are many people who are very invested in ensuring that I stay here, which means you are out of luck. By the by, I wanted to thank you for our most recent addition. I take it that was your doing? Yes, I thought so. Did you know what you sent me there? Really? It seems we have something in common.’

Meanwhile, the door had closed behind him and Raghman covered the microphone with her hand. ‘Take off your clothes.’

Elim considered her for a moment before he obeyed. She obviously didn’t mind that he was listening to her conversation. Perhaps she had even called him in on purpose.

‘Oh, I will. I would say I owe you, but we both now this debt is already paid. Still, I will tell Dareek to send you one of his Orion girls. He is tired of her, and is looking for a way to get rid of her. You will like her. It will make for a nice change from all those Bajorans. Didn’t one of them try to kill you recently?’ She smirked at the answer. ‘No, I haven’t had that problem in a long time. You know how convincing I can be.’ She studied Elim. ‘Your heart is too soft, Skrain.’

Even though it didn’t really surprise him at this point in the conversation, Elim couldn’t prevent the rage that filled him. He clenched his fists and Raghman grinned.

‘Do me a favor and give my best wishes to Tashiba. Tell her I congratulate her… I will. It is my pleasure.’

Raghman closed the connection. ‘A pity that you killed his father. The man was insufferable before that happened; now he devolves every year. Sometime soon he will catch some disease from one of his Bajoran whores and loose his sanity completely. I don’t understand what my cousin sees in him, aside from the still considerable wealth and influence of his family.’

‘Tashiba Dukat is your cousin?’ Elim asked surprised. ‘I thought she was from the Cotan family.’

‘She is my father’s sister’s daughter.’ The waved her hand. ‘Kneel.’

He obeyed and looked up to her. ‘What do you want from me?’

‘I haven’t decided yet.’ She studied him. ‘Tell me about your time in Bamarren, Elim.’

He hesitated. He already knew she knew a lot about him. Still, it was forbidden to talk about the training in Bamarren.

‘I could ask much more difficult questions,’ she said. ‘For example what you did on Romulus. I won’t, at least not now. I was in Bamarren myself; it’s not such a big secret as everyone is led to believe. I’m just curious. You are not gaining anything by your refusal to answer me, really.’

Elim took a deep breath. It would be stupid to provoke her. He started to talk.

While he spoke, Raghman switched between the cameras and watched the mine. When he had finished she nodded thoughtfully. ‘That was interesting. You are a talented story teller. I’m sure that was an advantage in your line of work.’ She smiled thinly. ‘And now, tell me the truth.’

‘What makes you think I lied?’

She pulled her weapon and fired, almost bored. His body was immediately flooded with agony, and he screamed. When she switched the thing off he took a deep breath to calm down. His muscles trembled until the pain receded.

‘You have a talent to tell stories, and I have a talent to tell truth from lies.’ She leant back. ‘Let’s start again, Elim.’

It took an effort to push himself back to his knees. Elim refused to be tortured for such a triviality, but he could now see where this was going. At one point, she would ask him a question he couldn’t answer, or simply say that he lied.

### Deep Space Nine, 2369

Elim woke from the silent hum of a dermal regenerator. Raghman was healing the bruises in her face. She looked as relaxed as if she were filing her nails. Elim studied her for a while. He was no longer as angry as the day before. If he was honest, he was mostly confused. He could not figure her out. Why had she come to him? Why had she let him know she was still alive? She had to know that he was still working for the Obsidian Order. Wasn’t she worried that he would betray her to Tain? On the other hand, she had said herself that she had contacted Tain after her escape from Mantissek. Why had she done that? Why hadn’t Tain eliminated her when he knew she was still alive? It was a mystery to him.

His hand moved automatically to the place where he had hidden his phaser the day before, but he froze when she sneered at him.

‘You have become predictable, Elim. How sad.’

He took a deep breath to clear his thoughts. ‘What do you want?’

‘You can call me Corian, if you want.’

‘Oh, I’m honored to use your fake name, _Corian_.’

She seemed amused and somewhat surprised. ‘That’s my name, Elim. You never tried to find out my name?’

‘I…’ he hesitated. He had never really tried. He no longer had access to the Order’s databases, and his search for information had been lackluster.

‘My father has never hidden the fact that he had a daughter,’ she said, amused.

‘Corian Raghman,’ he said, as if speaking her name out loud would improve his memory. ‘No, I didn’t investigate. I wanted to forget what happened in Mantissek, and I thought you were dead.’

‘I’m the oldest daughter of Legate Makor Raghman. I have four living siblings, two brothers and two sisters. I had another brother, but he died on an Order assignment, years ago.’

‘Why are you telling me this?’ he asked suspiciously. What did she gain from giving him information he could use against her?

‘Why not?’ Raghman moved the regenerator across her breast. She was still naked, and it was distracting.

Elim couldn’t help but admire her audacity and indifference. Either she was really completely cold, or she didn’t take him seriously. Maybe both. He took a deep breath to quell his rising anger. It was only to his advantage if she underestimated him, but he doubted she did. He knew she was a smart and dangerous woman. It would have been lethal to underestimate _her_.

‘Is the death of your brother related to the reason you were in Mantissek?’ If she gave him information, he might as well use that to his advantage.

‘No, not at all. My brother was a weakling, who failed his assignment. It might interest you that he was in Bamarren with you. I never really tried to catch up with him while he was alive, so it was interesting to hear your account of what happened. He was my mother’s darling. My father had expectations of my brother he constantly failed to meet. As I said, he was a weak man.’

Elim tried to remember what he had told her. Perhaps her brother was one of those who had left the institute in disgrace. No, it could not be. She had said he had worked for the Obsidian Order. He only remembered one person he had talked about at length who fit all her descriptions. ‘Maladeck?’ he asked, surprised.

She leant back on the pillows. ‘That was the name you called him, yes.’

Elim remembered the young man who had almost betrayed the Order to the Federation and had committed suicide in the end – or had been terminated by the Order, he had never cared to figure that out. Yes, Maladeck had been a weak man. He and Raghman had nothing in common. Elim would have never suspected they were siblings.

‘Then you also know I betrayed him.’ He wondered if she despised him even more because of that.

‘He betrayed you and Cardassia. A significant difference.’ She turned around and studied him. ‘You don’t understand me at all, do you?’

‘I don’t know what you want.’ Elim was no longer angry, merely annoyed. ‘I have asked it several times now.’

‘I think despite all your knowledge and talents you have an unforgivable weakness.’ Her blue eyes stared at him as if she could see into the deepest corners of his soul. Elim avoided her gaze and clenched his fists.

‘Perhaps that was the reason Enabran disowned you,’ she said contemplatively. ‘I have to admit I was surprised he sent you into exile. You were one of his best agents; I could not understand why he would waste you like this. At first I thought he let his emotions get the best of him. You betrayed him, and he is no man who forgives easily.’

Elim stared at the bed. He had asked himself the same questions, and had found no satisfying answer.

‘I have come to believe that he considers you a liability. He can’t convince himself to kill you, and I’m sure some part of him thinks you don’t deserve a quick death. On the other hand, he must have realized by now that he has always misjudged you. He has tried to make you into a younger version of himself, but then it became obvious he failed. However, if you had been what he had hoped for, he could have never made you his successor. He must have seen that if he is still the man I knew. If you had been what he had hoped you were, you would have seen through his machinations a long time ago, and you would have become a threat to him. Instead, your feelings and prejudices blind you so much that you have no idea what he thinks and what motivates him. That is also his fault, but I doubt that he will ever admit it. As much as he wanted a worthy heir, he also wanted a puppet he could control. He has nurtured your weaknesses, and you have let him. That is the reason why you don’t understand me.’

Raghman got up, and started to dress.

‘What makes you think you know him that much better than I do?’ Elim asked angrily. ‘I have known him since I was a child, and I say I know him very well.’

‘And yet you made that incredibly stupid mistake with Palandine.’

‘I let sentiment dictate my actions, yes. But I loved her! It was stupid…’

‘What was stupid,’ she interrupted him ‘was that you ever thought you could keep her. You loved her, yes. That makes you a passionate man. What makes you a fool is that you thought you two had a future. Do you think it was by chance that you found the meeting place of the heretics? Tain knew that your uncle had been a member of that cult. Was it mere luck that you met Palandine and her daughter in that park? Tain knew of your affair in Bamarren. He only waited for you to succumb to your weaknesses, and like a stupid Urall you walked into his trap. If you had done what he asked of you, he would have ordered you to kill Palandine next. Afterwards, he would have told you to eliminate that cult. And if you would have done all that, you would have easily climbed ranks inside the Order again. When he would have finally ordered you to kill Pythas Lok, you would have done it without hesitation. Lok was never the head of the Order Tain wanted.’

They looked at each other. Elims thoughts raced. He realized that she was right, and he wondered why he had not seen it earlier. It was exactly what Tain would do. He had always been his father’s instrument, hadn’t he? A puppet of his design. Elim thought back to his last day in Bamarren, his surprise that Tain seemed to know everything about him. Why had he ever thought that had changed? How could he have believed that Tain no longer controlled him, just because he had become one of the most powerful men inside the Order? He had always lived in Tain’s world.

Raghman closed the flap on her jumper. She must have replicated it; he had ripped her dress to pieces last evening. ‘I will tell you why I’m here. I don’t despise you, Elim, quite the opposite. I want to stay in contact because I believe you could be very useful for our people. You could be one of those that save Cardassia from itself. But only if you master your weaknesses; otherwise you will never be more than a puppet in the game of others.’

He was stunned, so surprised that he did not know what to say. What should he think of this? What did she mean? He once again realized that he knew nothing about her, despite the fact that he had known her for years.

She put on her glasses and disappeared behind them. ‘Good bye, Elim.’ She placed his phaser on the bed in front of him, smirked, and left.

### USS Defiant, 2375

Ezri turned from the operations console. ‘Sir, three new ships just uncloaked next to the Cardassian Fleet.’

‘On screen,’ Sisko ordered. The Dominion fleet was in retreat. As Ezri had said three new ships had appeared next to the Cardassian ships. They looked almost Cardassian – almost. Aside from the fact that the only Cardassian ships with cloaking technology had belonged to the Obsidian Order the design was more efficient and organic than usual. He very much doubted that Cardassia had had the time to develop something like that in recent years.

‘I detect subspace communication between the first ship and the Cardassian fleet… and with the Romulan fleet. Captain, Admiral Ross and Chancelor Martok are calling us.’

The leaders of their fleet appeared on their screen and a short discussion ensued about following the Dominion fleet to Cardassia.

Suddenly Captain McKay of the Appalachia hailed them. The Appalachia was a Steamrunner class ship, and was closest to the retreating Dominion fleet. ‘Sirs,’ she began. ‘We detect some changes on Cardassia Prime you should be aware of. My science officer tells me the planetary shields have been activated… and the orbital weapon platforms have started to fire on Dominion ships. In addition, the Jem’Hadar have launched a massive attack on the planet. If the planetary shields don’t hold, the planet won’t survive this.’

‘Captain, the fleets of the Cardassians and the Romulans are setting course on Cardassia Prime,” Ezri informed them. ‘More ships are uncloaking… I have detected eighty new ships so far.’

‘Now is not the time for retreat!’ shouted Martok. ‘We must not allow the enemy to recover! This is the hour of our victory!’

Admiral Ross nodded at last. ‘All right, gentlemen. We press on. I have to say that I hope that those ships are on our side. I don’t like such uncertainties.’

‘I’m quite sure they are, Admiral,’ Ezri said. ‘They have just opened fire on the Jem’Hadar.’

Soon afterwards the Defiant was in the middle of the battle. The odd thing was that the Jem’Hadar seemed extremely reluctant to abandon their attack on the planet. Only when the advance of the allied fleet left them no choice they turned around. At this point they had sustained heavy losses and had already lost their advantage.

‘The firepower of these ships is impressive,’ Worf remarked. ‘It is close to our Sovereign class.’

‘Good for us,’ Sisko said, even though it disconcerted him somewhat. He agreed with Ross, such uncertainties were never good. Where had those ships come from? Just now however what counted was that they were very good at destroying Jem’Hadar.

‘Sir, the Breen broke through our lines and are retreating’, Ezri reported. ‘No, wait… the Cardassians and Romulans are letting them go. The Breen have stopped attacking… their ships are leaving the battle.’

‘I never thought I would see the day a Romulan lets a Breen escape alive,’ Worf snarled.

Sisko turned towards the Klingon. ‘We are lucky that they are gone, Commander. We have enough losses as it is.’

Odo stepped on the bridge. ‘Captain… if we can make contact with the founder in command I believe I can convince them to surrender.’

‘I have no idea where the founder is,’ Sisko replied, a little irritated.

‘Admiral Ross has already tried to talk to the Jem’Hadar,’ said Ezri. ‘They don’t answer our calls.’

‘As far as I know she is in the headquarters in the Cardassian capital,’ said Odo. ‘At least that’s what our contacts in the resistance tell us.’

‘I doubt that.’ Ezri made a few swipes on her console. ‘The Jem’Hadar have focused their attack on that area. I think it unlikely they would do that if a founder was there. In addition, large parts of the city have been destroyed. It’s the most impacted region next to Lakarian.’

‘Even if she were there, Constable… we can’t make contact with them. They don’t answer us, and with the planetary shield active we can’t beam a team down, even if I were crazy enough to lower our shields. I’m sorry… I like the idea, and I would be all for it if it was possible, but it isn’t.’

‘The Jem’Hadar won’t stop attacking until they are all dead,’ Worf said fiercely. ‘The odds are against them now, but that won’t stop them.’

‘Captain, you should see this.’ Ezri transferred the operational feed to the main screen.

The Romulan and Cardassian ships had formed groups, with three or four ships attacking a Jem’Hadar ship together. The joined attack overwhelmed the Jem’Hadar’s shields almost immediately. Methodical destruction. It was surprising how well coordinated and fast they acted, almost as if they were a single unit; incredibly efficient.

‘The Klingons have started to copy their strategy.’

‘We should do the same,’ Worf said. ‘It’s the only possibility.’

Sisko watched the slaughter with disgust. It went against everything he had been taught. Members of Starfleet were trained to incapacitate the enemy, not to annihilate. However… Worf was right. The Jem’Hadar would not surrender. ‘Call the Appalachai, Lieutenant.’

Captain McKay appeared on the screen. ‘We see what happens,’ she said. ‘I assume you want to coordinate our attack?’

Sisko nodded. ‘Our ships are of compatible speed and firepower.’

She returned the nod. ‘I agree. Lieutenant Suvik will link our conn and tactical to yours. He says Commander Worf is the logical choice as controller.’

‘Can you manage tactical of two ships at the same time, Commander?’ Sisko asked.

Worf growled as if he had been insulted. ‘Of course, Captain.’

‘All right, people. Let's finish this.’ Sisko thought about it while his Conn officer flew the Defiant and the Appalachia into an attack. The Romulans and the Cardassians must have done something similar to be so efficient – have their squadron’s flight and tactical controlled by one of the ships. He could not imagine that the Romulans would ever yield control of their ships to someone else, which could only mean that the Cardassians had done that. That was… more surprising than everything else he had seen today.


	4. Chapter 4

### Deep Space Nine, 2370

‘I would appreciate it if you would ensure that I’m not interrupted.’

Quark leered. Elim knew what he was thinking. A private holosuite program in the holosuite the Ferengi had recently upgraded… with Cardassian technology nonetheless. ‘Don’t worry, Garak. I will make sure that you can enjoy your experience undisturbed.’

‘Good.’

Quark looked a bit unsettled for a moment, but he recovered quickly. Elim knew that the Ferengi found him intimidating. Quark was many things, but he wasn’t stupid. He had good instincts, which were useful in his more dubious dealings. His instincts told him that Elim was dangerous, but his mind argued that Elim was just a harmless tailor, and thus he ignored his gut feeling. Elim almost pitied him.

He walked upstairs to the holosuite and took a deep breath before he stepped inside. Four hours, and he didn’t really know what to expect. He took out the crystal Raghman had given him. He thought of ignoring her orders, but it was only an idle thought. He liked his life too much to risk it like this.

The crystal fit seamlessly into the interface. The whole room hummed for a moment, and his skin tingled as the scanner of the console travelled over him to confirm his identity.

A moment later he stood in a room he hadn’t seen for eight years. The man who turned around to greet him was an old friend, Pythas Lok.

‘Proconsul Morak has long advertised extending the Romulan border into Tzenkethi territory,’ he said. ‘I don’t have to explain to you what that would mean for Cardassia.’

At the moment there were a number of natural barriers separating Romulan and Cardassian territories, but if the Romulans invaded Tzenketh, they would get direct access to the Cardassian colonies in this area, which would pose considerable danger for the longstanding peace between their people.

Elim read the information Lok handed him and his mind adapted easily to the scenario. He had always been a good strategist, and as they started discussing solutions he had to admit that he enjoyed this, even if it was hypothetical. Of course it would not be sufficient to kill Morak. It had to happen in a way that ensured that the Romulans abandoned his ideas completely. This meant it was easier to mark him a traitor. The Orion syndicate had been interested in better access to Tzenkethi territory for a long time, and Morak’s son was a notorious gambler. He was estranged from his father, but it would be simple to convince him to contact Morak again. If it wasn’t possible to blackmail him, he could easily be replaced by one of their agents. Morak would keep their contact secret to save face, and that would be his downfall.

The four hours were gone before he noticed it. When he left the holosuite he felt surprisingly refreshed. The station was suddenly less unbearable, and it didn’t bother him as much as usual that his implant was now turned off. He had feared this program, after all Raghman had given it to him. He had assumed it was some way to torture him. Instead, she had apparently done him a favor.

### Subspace message, 2375

Dear Elim,

We did not part under the best circumstances when we last met, I know this. You probably wonder why I waited all these months before writing you this letter. I tried to reach you in other ways, but all communication with Cardassia has broken down. I really wanted to speak with you in person, but it seems that won’t be possible any time soon.

I want you to know that I regret how things ended between us. If I would have known then that I would not see you again, I might have acted differently. I admit, perhaps not. We both were angry, and said things we did not really mean, or at least I did.

It was not easy to hear nothing from you for so long. I hope you are well. Please contact me if you can. Any kind of message would make me happy.

Iro

### Cardassian Capital, 2375

‘I can’t reach them. Communication is interrupted again.’ Elim studied Kira with concern. While he was feeling better by now, she was steadily getting worse. What he had not noticed earlier was that she had been hit by debris during the explosion, and likely had broken bones and maybe also internal injuries. With the help of the two remaining Cardassian soldiers he had managed to get her to the university, but she urgently needed medical care.

‘Great.’ Kira took a deep breath. ‘I no longer hear explosions. Did they stop firing on us?’

‘I think if there were still Jem’Hadar on the surface they are dead by now. Yes, the attack on the planet has stopped.’

A while ago they had seen smaller ships attacking Jem’Hadar troops, but they had disappeared.

‘What about interplanetary communication?’ asked one of the soldiers.

Elim tried it. He had no success inside the city. Most sectors had suffered heavy damage, with the greatest damage in the Tarlak and Akleen sectors which had hosted government and military buildings. Finally he got an answer from Lakat. He was somewhat surprised when a Gul appeared on the screen. He had tried a number of different frequencies, but had not expected that the military frequency with his encryption was still active.

‘Mister Garak,’ the man said, surprising him again. ‘Is Legate Damar with you?’

‘No,’ Elim answered. The man wouldn’t have called Damar Legate if he wasn’t on their side. ‘Damar is dead.’

The Gul pressed his lips together. ‘We were afraid of that. You are at the central university, right? I can’t send you support right now. The capital is free of Jem’Hadar, but we still have problems in other regions. It is under control, but I don’t have enough people as is, I can’t spare anyone.’

‘Do you know what is happening outside the planet? We have no subspace communication.’

The man shook his head. ‘No, but even if I knew I would not tell you. I have no way to confirm your identity.’

Elim’s mouth twisted in a humorless smile. Now out of all times the military personnel had to develop brains. ‘Yes, you are right. We could use medical assistance.’

‘Is it critical?’

‘We don’t have the instruments to determine that.’ Kira was not the only one who needed help, and Elim thought it better not to mention that their most grievously wounded was a Bajoran.

The Gul nodded and looked at someone outside the screen. ‘The university has a medical department. I’m sending you the access codes. We evacuated, but not everyone is accounted for. Perhaps you will find someone with medical experience. It will take some time until we can send help, sorry.’

Elim nodded. That was a good idea. The university building was mostly intact, only parts of the buildings were blacked out. ‘Thank you. That did already help.’

The Gul nodded, and closed the connection.

‘How do we know they are on our side?’ Kira asked through clenched teeth.

‘I don’t know. I can only hope. If some Jem’Hadar appear, we will know I was mistaken.’

‘You always cheer me up, Garak.’

Elim looked at the codes. ‘I will try to get into the medical department. With some luck I will find something to transport you.’ He looked at the higher-ranking of the two soldiers. ‘Please stay at the communications console, just in case subspace communication is reinstated.’

The man nodded. It surprised Elim a little that he accepted his orders so easily, but he did not question his luck.

‘I will be back soon.’


	5. Chapter 5

### Deep Space Nine, 2370

Quark looked up when he noticed the blue-haired Bajoran sitting down at his bar. He felt a familiar mixture of lust and greed. He knew the trader. They had conducted very profitable business in the past. She also looked delicious, but he knew she was out of his league. He let his eyes rest on the plunging neckline of her coverall. Sometimes he understood why so many races let their women wear clothes. It made things… more interesting. He stopped his musings and reminded himself of rule of commerce 229 - Latinum lasts longer than lust. She had waved him and obviously wanted something from him. He nodded towards his office. She turned away and slipped a strip of latinum to Rom, who had brought her a glass of lemonade. Quark grinned. He liked good customers.

When she stepped into his office she immediately activated a device which obviously told her if someone listened in or recorded the conversation. Quark pretended to be offended, but really wasn’t. He might have done these things if she had not checked for them. Information was good for business. On the other hand, if you gave someone the impression that they had offended you, you could increase the price. That was also good for business.

‘I heard you made a deal with Garak to acquire certain Cardassian technology for him.’

Quark almost flinched. The woman was a Bajoran, but that meant nothing. The Obsidian Order had many faces. If she worked for the order, Boheeka was history, and he could only try to stay out of it by pretending ignorance. ‘What if I did?’, he asked.

‘How much did he pay you?’

Quark grinned. ‘I never said he paid me for anything. However, if someone would want to acquire a piece of Cardassian technology that would be quite expensive. Difficult to come by these days.’ There was a slight chance that she wanted to make a similar deal.

Cardassian biotechnology… Garak had paid well, but not well enough for Quark to risk his life. This deal was off.

The eyes of the Bajoran narrowed. ‘I think it would be more profitable if you would forget about this deal. Five bars of latinum if you destroy the code he gave you and forget he ever made this deal with you.’

She stacked the gold on the table in front of her. For a moment, greed won over fear. Quark reached for the bars, but hesitated. He suddenly realized there was still profit in this transaction. If she wanted to bargain… ‘I would love to take this offer, but Garak… is not someone to double-cross.’

‘Tell him your sources don’t have the device. I will take care of the rest.’

She put another bar on the table.

Did he want to know what that meant? No. Six bars of latinum were a lot of money, that aside, Garak had paid him _to try_. Also, rule of acquisition number sixteen said, a deal is a deal ... until a better one comes along. This hadn’t been a good deal anyways.

‘Done.’ He pulled the gold towards him.

The Bajoran smirked. ‘Splendid. Since we are getting along so well, I am interested in Cardassian technology myself.’ She took one of his data pads and typed in a code. ‘If you buy this device and use it to upgrade one of your holosuites, I will refund your expenses.’

‘Why?’ Quark asked suspiciously.

‘I have some programs that become a little bit more intense with it.’ She winked. ‘All I want is that you reserve this holosuite for me when I’m on the station.’

‘Oh, a special program…’ Quark leered. He would love to stay in a special holoprogram with her for a while. He had a great program of the hot springs on Risa… ‘It is my pleasure.’

‘I always like to do business with you, Quark.’

Quark grinned contentedly. ‘Feelings I return with all my heart, Madam.’

The Bajoran put on her glasses and turned to the door. ‘Keep your part of our bargain, Quark. I would find out if you betray me, and I like you. You are my favorite Ferengi. The bar wouldn’t be the same if it belonged to Rom.’

Quark froze for a moment, then fletched his teeth. ‘Rom has no ears for business. I do. I know when a deal is a deal.’

‘Good.’ She smiled at him and left.

When the door closed behind her, Quark scowled. He hated threats. Nonetheless, this had been very profitable. He grinned and patted his gold bars. Latinum, and a free upgrade to his holosuite. Garak would have to find his device elsewhere.

.

‘I’m disappointed.’

Elim’s head throbbed and he had not paid attention to the footsteps following him. A mistake, of course. He hadn’t even known Raghman was on the station, another unforgivable blunder. When had he become so sloppy? Perhaps at the same time when he had made the mistake to switch on his implant to better tolerate his exile. He had known that it clouded his senses and slowed down his thoughts. He had not cared, he had almost wished for it. Perhaps he had wanted to destroy himself. Elim wondered if Raghman would help him with that. ‘What might I have done to disappoint you? I can’t remember having tailored something for you recently, but if you didn’t like it I’m sure…’

She pushed him forcibly against the wall of the corridor, and he gasped when his headache reached a new level. ‘This is not the time for games, Elim. Whatever possessed you to trust a Ferengi over me?’

Elim closed his eyes. ‘Let me go, Corian. We have nothing to talk about.’

‘Is that so?’ She released him. Elim needed a moment to pull himself together, then he continued to walk down the corridor. They were not far from his quarters, and the prospect of a dose of triptacederin was motivation enough to ignore her. She followed him, of course. 'Did Bashir think your condition interesting? What about the Bajoran nurse? I’m sure the excourse on Cardassian physiology must have been fascinating.’

‘Do you think I let that happen on purpose?’ he hissed, losing his patience. ‘I would have never gone with him of my own free will!’ He opened the door to his quarters.

She pushed him inside. ‘Purpose? Negligence, more likely. You are irrational. Not long, and you will be dangerous.’

Elim pressed his hand against his head. ‘Are you here to kill me? If yes, get it over with. It is almost a mercy, considering.’

‘How is it possible that your implant is no longer working?’ she asked icily.

‘I forgot to switch it off.’ He searched for his hypospray. He really needed triptacederine.

‘Give me your remote.’

He looked up and laughed. She had pointed a phaser at him. ‘For what? It is too late, as you well know. Unless you prefer to kill me slowly.’

She met his eyes coldly. ‘I have thought about it. Give me the remote.’

Elim had finally found the hypospray and pressed it to his neck. It could have been a glass of water. Strictly speaking he had known that, but the illusion had been nice. He wondered which dose would kill him. Would Raghman like it if he did her job for her?

‘Give me the remote!’ she repeated. ‘Believe me, I can make this much more unpleasant for you.’

Elim laughed again. In his current situation he could hardly imagine anything worse, but of course he knew she told the truth. Why she thought it necessary to threaten him he could not fathom. The implant was already killing him, in a very painful way. How ironic that he had become his own executioner. He finally did her the favor and put the remote on the table.

A precise phaser shot, and it disintegrated.

Elim stared at the place where it had been just a moment before. He did not know what he had expected, but the sight made his situation all the more clear. ‘So this is how you plan to kill me.’

‘Not exactly. I can deactivate the implant, but you will have to come with me.’

Elim trembled. The pain was already overwhelming, and he knew it would only get worse. Did she really claim she wanted to help him? He very much doubted it, but he had no choice. It was his best option. He already knew she had taken care of Quark. ‘Why do you even ask?’

‘I’m a great advocate of free choice.’

Elim leant against the wall. ‘You enjoy this, do you? Very well. What do you want me to say? Am I supposed to beg for your help?’ He fell to his knees. ‘Please, Corian, help me.’

Raghman smiled. Of course she enjoyed it. She had always enjoyed it to torture him. Elim clenched his fists helplessly. He should have known it was only a matter of time until it came to this. The worst was, it was his own fault.

She touched the communicator on her wrist. ,Beam us aboard.’

They materialized in the transporter room of a ship. Elim realized that this had to be her freighter. A Bajoran man stood at the console.

‘Activate the energy field to block the sensors of the station and notify Iliana that we are ready to depart.’

The man nodded and left.

Raghman grabbed Elim’s arm and pulled him up. ‘I should let you suffer for a while. You deserve your pain. How close were you to informing the Federation about Order technology? Betrayal of Cardassia in addition to betrayal of Tain personally. Are you trying to test how long his patience holds before he kills you?

‘Your body is Bajoran.’ Elim felt a mixture of rage and desperation. ‘You don’t know how it feels. The light is always to bright, the temperature is always too cold, everyone on the station looks at me with loathing and contempt. Every day is torture. I would not have survived it without the implant!’

‘I don’t care how you justify your weakness.’

She dragged him with her, and through the veil of pain he suddenly realized that she was truly enraged. He had never seen her angry before, even on Mantissek she had hardly ever shown emotion. She was cold, calculating, sadistic… he did not want to know what would happen if she ever really lost it.

The ship was a mixture of Cardassian, Bajoran, and Romulan technology, as far as Elim could tell. It might have been a military freighter once upon a time, but by now it had been repaired and upgraded so many times that it was hardly noticeable anymore. They entered a room that was obviously the medical center. The hum of the engines told Elim that the ship went to warp.

In front of him were two biobeds with monitors above them. A brown-haired Bajoran had been sitting at a computer terminal and got up when they came in. ‘This does not look good.’

Raghman pushed him to one of the biobeds. ‘Undress and lie down.’ She looked at the Bajoran. ‘This is so much beyond not good, it makes me cry, Doctor.’

The Bajoran studied him. ‘I am Gilora Prelar. Do what she says, I don’t think we have much time.’

Elims headache was almost paralyzing, and he was tempted to hit his head against the wall to stop it. He leant against the biobed while he took off his jacket. The thought of bowing down to take off his boots brought tears to his eyes.

The doctor was suddenly next to him and helped him to remove his clothes. He pushed himself up on the bed with an effort, and screamed when he lay down and the pain reached a new level. The doctor grabbed his wrists. ‘Don’t injure yourself on top of everything else.’

He realized that he had grabbed his head with both of his hands and his fingers were digging in his skin like claws. He forced himself to let go. ‘Thank you, Dr. Gilora.’

‘Dr. Prelar,’ she corrected him, and looked at Raghman. ‘He is really out of it, it seems.’

Elim tried to think clearly, but he couldn’t. The pain extinguished everything else. ‘Triptacederin, please!’ he begged. ‘Please…’

‘It won’t help you, and if you were in your right mind you knew that,’ the doctor said. ‘Sedatives don’t influence the implant. I’m sure Timot told you so.’

He screamed. Suddenly he couldn’t move. Part of him knew they had bound him to the bed so that he would not hurt himself. Everything else was pain, pain that drowned every feeling and every thought. At the edge of his consciousness he heard arguing voices. Then, so suddenly that he was floating in nothingness for a moment, it was over and the pain had passed.

‘I need some time to fix the damage to his lymphatic system,’ said Dr. Prelar. She sounded angry.

‘You have all the time you need, Doctor,’ said Raghman. ‘I’m on the bridge.’

.

When Elim woke again he felt indefinitely better. His headache had disappeared.

Prelar sat at her console and watched him. Now, thinking clearly, he knew that it was a Cardassian name. She also had mentioned Timot, a scientist of the Obsidian Order.

‘I feel like a new man, Doctor,’ he said, and smiled.

The doctor did not return the smile. ‘You almost succeeded in committing suicide, Mr. Garak. That, and you almost betrayed Cardassia to the Federation. I don’t get the joke.’

Elim became serious. ‘May I use the bathroom?’

Prelar hit a button on her console and his restraints disappeared into the biobed. She nodded towards a door on the side.

With some difficulty, Elim got up. He was still weak, but all pain had vanished. The bathroom contained a toilet and a sonic shower, but no mirror. Elim wearily dragged his fingers through his hair. He was not sure he wanted to know what he looked like.

When he came out of the bathroom, Raghman was there. And Tain.

Elim’s knees suddenly felt weak and he needed all his self-control to stay upright. He was all of a sudden painfully aware how pathetic he looked.

Tain stared at him. ‘If I didn’t want you to suffer so much, I would kill you like a lame dog,’ he said finally, with the same cold disdain he had always used when Elim failed his expectations. ‘I’ve seen enough.’

He turned away abruptly and Raghman followed him hurriedly when he left. Against better judgment Elim leant against the door and watched them. He did not know what he felt. He had not seen his father in years, and now, like this… it was a mixture of shock, humiliation, rage and disappointment. Beneath all that was a yearning for something he could not quite name. When he looked at Tain and Raghman while they walked down the corridor he could not help but notice how familiar the two seemed. It was disconcerting.

‘I shouldn’t have listened to you,’ said Tain. ‘I should not have come here.’

‘Maybe it was I who wanted to see you,’ Raghman replied.

To Elims surprise, Tain turned towards her, put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. ‘Oh, my dear… if you only had not betrayed us… what an empire could we have built!’

Raghman laughed humorlessly. ‘Don’t play with me, Enabran. We are too old for games. You will be Cardassia as long as you live. I would have never been more than your bloodhound. But there was a time when I loved it.’

Tain laughed. ‘I know. You were a good bloodhound.’ His mood suddenly changed and his tone turned dark. ‘If I should ever find your pups…’

‘Don’t forget, I already found yours,’ said Raghman, almost lovingly.

Tain looked for a moment like he wanted to hit her, then he laughed again. ‘I’m an old fool that I let you live. You will be my downfall one day.’

‘I will never be your downfall,’ said Raghman, and it seemed like a vow. ‘You are Cardassia, and Cardassia is yours. Age will be your downfall. I can wait.’

‘Yes.’ Tain sounded different now, troubled. ‘You are still young.’ For a moment, he stood motionless in the corridor. Then he moved again, and both of them disappeared around a corner.

‘Did you hear what you wanted to hear?’ asked Dr. Prelar.

Elim flinched. He had forgotten that she was there.

‘You are good at appearing invisible.’

He looked at her and came back into the sick bay. ‘I learned it from a regnar.’

Dr. Prelar laughed silently. ‘I don’t doubt that.’

He sat down on the biobed. ‘May I have some clothes?’

The doctor shook her head. ‘No, for several reasons not.'

‘Is one of them that you like to look at me?’ he asked amused. He was not angry. This was Raghman’s punishment for his mistake. That, and she likely wanted to prevent him from taking a closer look at the ship.

Dr. Prelar blushed. ‘No… I mean… you are handsome, but that is not the reason…’

Elim smiled. ‘I would love to know what you really look like.’

Prelar hesitated for a moment, then she motioned him to join her at the console.

He walked over to her and she called a number of pictures to the screen. She zoomed into the first one. It showed a group of Cardassians on a party. The room they were standing in seemed to belong to a space station. Through the windows one could see space and a blueish planet, next to enlarging rings of a station of gigantic size.

‘That’s me,’ said Prelar, pointing towards a woman in a blue dress. She was pretty, although not exceptionally beautiful.

‘You look a lot better with your true face,’ he said.

‘My husband says the same.’ Prelar smiled and pointed at a Cardassian in the photo. ‘That’s him, my husband Torun. He is also on this ship.’

‘Who are the other people in the picture?’ Elim asked curiously. ‘Are they all members of the crew?’

Prelar nodded and pointed towards a beautiful woman in an elegant dress. ‘This is Iliana Ghemor, Raghman’s second in command.’ Her finger moved to the person she was talking to. ‘Raghman you know, of course.’

Elim missed what else she said. His gaze was trapped by the figure in a black suit he had mistaken for a man at first. Raghman was not a pretty Cardassian. She wore her hair short, like a man, which increased that impression. As a Bajoran she could be called pretty, but her true appearance fit much better to what he knew about her. She looked like a predator. Elim wondered if she had always radically changed her appearance for her assignments, because he could not imagine that she could disappear into the background like a good agent had to. He could not imagine that anyone could make the mistake to underestimate her. Everyone who saw her had to know immediately what she was.

The door of the sick bay opened and Raghman came in. Automatically he compared her appearance to the photo. The Bajoran Solinas Corian did not appear dangerous at all. She looked like a woman who loved risk and adventure, a somewhat careless, boisterous woman without great ambitions. It was a disguise that had deceived even him when he had met her first on Deep Space Nine. The only thing that betrayed her were her eyes. ‘We are returning to Terok Nor,’ she said. ‘Have you prepared everything for the surgery?’

Prelar nodded. ‘Do you want us to proceed immediately?’

“Yes. It has been brought to my attention that the station’s chief medical officer is causing some problems because his patient disappeared.’ She frowned at Elim. ‘We should conclude this before we create a situation.’

‘What kind of surgery?’ asked Elim. He stepped back from the console and moved back to the biobed.

Raghman studied him. ‘Since you ruined the implant we will replace it with another. The reason why it was issued to you still exists. The new implant is made from organic technology, it is not as easy to discover as the previous version. You may tell Bashir the implant has been removed if he examines you again. Something he will do.’

‘What am I supposed to tell him when he asks why I had this implant?’

She shrugged. ‘Think of something. You are good at inventing stories, after all. You caused the problem, be glad I helped you at all.’

On Prelar’s sign Elim lay down on the biobed, which changed its form so that he could lie face down. ‘Timot told me the implant could not be removed without causing considerable damage.’

‘That was the case at the time. Let’s hope that our methods have improved in the meantime and that Dr. Prelar is a competent surgeon.’

Elim tried to get up, but Prelar already pressed a hypospray to his neck. Against his will his muscles weakened and he fell back on the bed. Soon afterwards he was unconscious.

### Deep Space Nine, 2380

Colonel Kira stopped when she noticed three unusual figures sitting at a table in Quark’s. Unusual, because they were sitting together. Garak was apparently having lunch with two Bajorans. She did not know them. A red-haired woman and a brown-haired man. They seemed to be getting along well with Garak, it looked like they were having an interesting conversation. Kira frowned and hesitated for a moment, before she walked towards the table. When she stepped up to the table their conversation stopped and they looked up at her.

‘Colonel Kira. What a surprise. Can I help you with something?’ Garak smiled, but it was obvious he did not like the interruption.

Kira knew perfectly well that she was unwelcome, but she considered it her duty to find out what business Garak had with Bajorans. ‘No…’ Her eyes moved to the Bajorans. ‘I saw two new faces, and wanted to greet them.’

‘That is very nice of you, Colonel.’ The woman smiled, but it looked artificial, she was not any more happy about the interruption than Garak. ‘My name is Regera Silis, this is my colleague, Jerald Par.’

‘Welcome on Deep Space Nine,’ said Kira. ‘May I ask what brings you to my station, Miss Regera?’

The woman scowled. The man shook his head slightly and put his hand on hers. He looked at Kira. ‘Colonel Kira, you have my greatest respect. I admire you for everything you did for Bajor. However, our reason for being here is our own. We would greatly appreciate it if you would allow us to conclude our business in peace.’

Kira took a surprised step back. ‘Of course, Mr. Jerald. I apologize.’

‘No damage done.’ The man smiled and steepled his fingers in a way that reminded her of Bareil. ‘It was an honor to speak with you, Colonel. Goodbye.’

They obviously waited until she was out of hearing range until they continued their conversation.

Kira observed them suspiciously, but she had no reason to stay on the promenade. Perhaps it had been impolite to ask them directly why they were here, but they had behaved questionably! While relations between Bajor and Cardassia had improved in recent years (at least according to the Bajoran government), nothing had changed as far as Kira was concerned. Cardassians, especially Cardassians like Garak, never came with good intentions.

When she walked slowly away, she spontaneously decided to visit the security office. Mael Kora looked up when she came in. ‘Nerys! How can I help you? Is there a problem?’

‘No.’ Kira looked at the monitors and for a moment she missed Odo with painful intensity. ‘I changed my mind, Kora. I would like you to keep an eye on Garak.’

The brunette woman arched a brow. ‘No problem. To be honest, I might have done that in any case.’

Kira grinned. ‘Do you know who the Bajorans are to whom he was talking today?’

Mael looked surprised. ‘No, but I can find out. He was not on the station yesterday, if that interests you. No new ships docked, which suggests he was on Bajor. Does he have _friends_ from the time he lived here?’ When Mael said it, the word sounded as if she was saying collaborators.

‘Not as far as I know,’ Kira said, frowning. ‘Not on the planet. There were a few traders that got along well with him, but I would not call them friends. There was a guy from security he met occasionally. He doesn’t work here anymore.’ She tried to remember the man’s name, but failed. She had had other things on her mind at the time, and Garak had worked for the Federation.

‘Interesting. I will investigate that.’

‘Thank you.’

They looked at each other for a moment, and Kira felt a rare sense of connection. They nodded at each other, and Kira left, reassured by the thought that she would know more about Garak’s plans soon.


	6. Chapter 6

###  Hospital d’kisha Opaka, 2375

Kressa hesitated for a moment before she entered the shrine. Temples had always filled her with awe. She did not really believe that the prophets were gods. They did not inspire her awe, belief did. True belief was a powerful instrument, she had seen this many times. Belief had helped Bajor to get rid of the Cardassians, to weather the conflicts after the occupation had ended, and to survive the Dominion. More than that, she knew it to be true because she felt it herself. It was a blessing to know that she was doing the right thing.

She breathed in the air that was heavy from incense, and knelt down in front of the bowl in the middle of the room, which held a constant fire. The prayer she muttered was not addressed to the prophets, but words did not matter. It was a prayer of gratitude that she had once again moved closer to her goal. She knew her purpose, her task in the fight to protect her people. She knew that she had been given the talents to fulfil that task.

A noise startled her, and she looked up. An old man came in to put new candles in the dark lamps. When he noticed her, he stopped.

‘I’m sorry, child,’ he said. ‘I did not wish to disturb your prayer.’

Kressa smiled. ‘Vedek Kumeini. Please, I’m not disturbed. I know the time is unusual, but I’m leaving the hospital tomorrow. I got a new position, on Deep Space Nine.’

The vedek returned her smile. ‘I’m happy for you, Sister Lassona. I’m sure you will be a credit to the station’s infirmary.’

‘I hope so,’ Kressa replied modestly. ‘It is a great honor to work so close to the temple.’

‘And so close to the emissary,’ Kumeini said knowingly. Her wish to see the emissary personally was no secret. He raised his hand and grasped her ear. ‘You have a strong pagh, child. You are at peace with yourself, which is a great gift. I’m sure you will overcome all problems you may encounter.’

‘I’m grateful to have found my true destiny this early,’ Kressa answered, her eyes lowered. ‘I know not many can say that.’

She looked up when he released her ear and met his well-meaning gaze. Kressa had never understood why some people were afraid of priests. She had nothing to hide from the Bajoran empath. What he sensed was only the truth.

### Deep Space Nine, 2370

Elim walked slowly around the human. He had learned a lot about human physiology recently. Dr. Bashir thought it was one of his peculiar interests, and was only too happy to indulge him. The good doctor loved to talk about his work. Humans were in many ways weaker than Cardassians, although they were less sensitive to cold. Heat on the other hand was very stressful for them, especially without access to water.

He had discovered that time inside of the program was easily manipulated as long as it happened within its parameters. Thus, more than twelve hours had passed for the human in front of him, and his state was adequately pitiful.

Elim crouched down in front of the man and studied him. The man was nobody, a holographic illusion of a stranger, but that did not have to be so. The man could be anyone. Literally anyone who entered his shop and came into the range of the sensors he used for his work, in particularly when he improved the scans manually. The Bajoran customer who thought he could taunt him because he was just a helpless tailor. The officers of the Federation who could hardly hide their contempt, but bought his wares anyway. For a moment, he indulged in that fantasy.

This was just an illusion, but a long time ago, it had been real. What was more, it was a very realistic illusion, Elim knew how these programs had been written. They were based on real parameters, on people who existed or had existed. What he had done here was real enough.

The man in front of him was pathetic. Moments earlier he had screamed in pain, now there was hardly anything left of him. Soon he would beg him to be allowed to leave this place. He would do anything, say anything, to make it stop. Elim had not even needed a day to achieve that.

If he would see him tomorrow on the promenade, sneering and sanctimonious, would it feel different than usual? Certainly.

### Cardassian penal colony Mantissek, 2362

‘The commander wants to see you.’

Elim stepped out of the line of workers. Raghman was calling him for the fourth time in as many days, and some of the workers were already talking about it. Elim could conclude from that that it was unusual. Apparently Raghman had normally very little contact with the workers, unless she was punishing them for something.

When he stepped into her office he undressed. He knew by now that she expected it, although he did not really know why. She had not touched him so far. If she wanted to humiliate him, she wasn’t succeeding. Elim could accept his situation as it was. The questions she asked were more difficult. She had asked him a lot of questions about Bamarren, and so far he had been able to answer them all honestly, but he always expected that to change. He did not know what she wanted with him. He only knew that it couldn’t be good.

Raghman watched him when he knelt down. She made a few motions with her hand and he moved his knees further apart and crossed his hands on his back. She enjoyed her power over him, he knew that. It wasn’t difficult to see. Whatever she wanted to do with him, she took her time. She had time, after all. So far, she had only used her weapon once, although he had no doubt that she enjoyed it to hurt him. She was just playing with him.

Now she smiled with satisfaction. ‘Good. You learn fast.’ She leant back in her chair.

‘Tell me something about Mila and Tolan Garak.’

Elim was a little surprised. ‘When I was a child, I thought they were my parents,’ he began hesitatingly. ‘In fact, Tolan was Mila’s brother, my uncle.’

Raghman indicated that he should continue. Elim decided to talk about Tolan. Mila had worked in the Obsidian Order for Tain, and if he talked about her, it was much more likely he betrayed secrets. Tolan on the other hand had only been a gardener, and he was part of his best childhood memories. He had always treated Elim like a son, and he had been a good father. Elim had spent a lot of time with him. Tolan had taught him a lot about gardening, among other things how to breed orchids.

‘Could you grow them here?’ asked Raghman.

Elim suppressed the sarcastic answer he felt tempted to give. ‘No, Gul. Even if I had the tubers, the soil, and the required nutrients, the climate here is much to dry.’

She shrugged. ‘A pity. Romulus is also a very dry world.’

He froze and stared at her in disbelief. He had used poisonous orchids to kill a Romulan proconsul. How could she know that? Only he, Tain, and his Romulan contacts had known of it. Even if she had been a member of the Obsidian Order, such operations were usually classified.

‘Someone told me you were a gardener there.’ The remark was too instantaneous to reassure him. However, he had to accept it, because this explanation was much more believable than her knowing details about his assignment.

‘Tell me how Tolan died.’

Elim hesitated for a moment, then he told her reluctantly how he had visited Tolan at his death bed and he had finally told him who his true father was. Tolan had given him orchid tubers – tubers of the same rare orchid Elim had later used to kill the Romulan proconsul. These orchids were only poisonous in very special circumstances, and he had created those circumstances on Romulus. Something Tolan had not taught him, but Tain had known what he had to do. In addition, Tolan had given him a Hebitian mask which centuries ago had been worn by members of the Oralius cult. It had raised Elim’s curiosity, and he had later started to investigate the cult.

‘Tell me something about the Oralian way,’ Raghman said. ‘Did you ever participate in their ceremonies?’

Elim hesitated again, but in the end he decided to answer honestly. They were both trapped on this planet and would never return to Cardassia. What did it matter if he had been a member of an illegal cult? The first time, he had stumbled upon the meeting by accident, because it took place close to where he lived. He had thought it was nonsense, and had considered the members of the cult anarchists. Palandine however had believed in the cult’s teachings, and he had attended many of their meetings with her.

Raghman looked out of the window while he talked. He wondered how she could stand the blinding light, but he assumed her Bajoran physiology made it easier.

‘Why do you look like a Bajoran?’ he asked against better judgment. He knew it was a dangerous question, but he really wanted to know. Surely Tain had not just turned her into a Bajoran to punish her.

She looked at him. ‘It was my assignment to destroy the Bajoran underground.’

‘That… that is an impossible task!’ he said astounded. ‘The Bajorans are basically all terrorists!’

She shrugged, turned away and looked back through the window.

‘How… is that why you are here? Because you failed?’

She laughed, but there was bitterness in her voice he could not really place. ‘I was more successful than one would assume. No, that’s not the reason I’m here.’ She turned around, and when she looked at him Elim realized he had made a mistake. ‘Tell me something about your training in the Obsidian Order,’ she said.

Elim froze. ‘You know I can’t do that.’

Her eyes were cold. ‘I know no such thing.’

### Cardassian capital, 2375

Kira leant on her crutch. Garak had brought her to the medical department of the university, but the place had been deserted. It turned out that Garak had enough medical experience to heal her worst injuries. She had not asked him how he knew so much about Bajoran physiology. She did not really want to know, and he would have only lied anyways.

Kira pressed her lips together while she limped next to Garak past a line of Cardassians. Her work with Damar had changed her feelings towards Cardassians, she no longer hated them as much as she once had, but she would never like them. Garak… there had been times when she almost liked Garak. When she thought back to them, she considered them weakness. She did not trust Garak. Her gut feeling told her that he could stab her in the back any time, and she had learned to trust that feeling. Others called it paranoia, but it had served her well.

They finally reached the main room of the provisional headquarters. So far, they had not been able to contact Sisko. Garak had talked to a number of Cardassians, and it disconcerted Kira that she did not know about what. Apparently the war was over, and the allies had won. According to him the remaining Cardassian fleet had switched sides in the last moment and had joined the fight against the Dominion.

In the middle of the room stood four Jem’Hadar, subdued by the phasers of Cardassian soldiers. Kira’s hand moved automatically to her weapon, but she restrained herself.

A Cardassian in a black suit stepped forward from a group of soldiers. Only when she started to speak Kira realized it was a woman. ‘Welcome, Mister Garak, Colonel Kira. Today is a great day for Cardassia.’ She smiled.

Without any tangible reason, Kira decided she did not like this woman.

Garak moved towards her and inclined his head. Apparently he knew her. ‘Gul Raghman.’

Kira studied the woman, who now raised her arms and called the attention of the whole room towards her. This was Raghman? The other resistance leader? Damar had mentioned her once, but only fleetingly. She had gained the impression he was trying to avoid the topic, even though she did not know why. Raghman’s people had destroyed a number of Jem’Hadar outposts, but had never really worked together with Damar. That had turned out to be wise in the end when Damar’s troops had been infiltrated and destroyed. For some reason Kira had always thought Raghman was a civilian. It was the first time someone called her Gul in her presence.

Kira’s dislike increased as she watched Raghman. The woman seemed familiar, although she was sure she had never seen her before. Why wasn’t she wearing a uniform? How did she know Garak?

‘Comrades!’ shouted Raghman. ‘Today is the day we start a new chapter of our history! Today, we are finally free, not only of the rule of the Dominion, but also of the rule of outdated, misguided thinking which almost condemned us! The Cardassian people finally have the chance to rise anew from the ashes of old mistakes! The new leaders of Cardassia will not repeat those mistakes! I am proud to have been an instrument of this change!’

The Cardassians in the room applauded. Kira’s eyes narrowed. She did not like this rhetoric, even though Raghman had not claimed leadership herself.

Raghman raised her hand, pointing towards the Jem’Hadar. ‘These are the last Jem’Hadar on Cardassian soil. They will forever be the last!’ She turned to Garak and handed him a phaser. ‘I give you the honor, Elim.’

It happened so fast that Kira had no time to comprehend it until it was too late. Garak took the phaser and fired. The bodies of the Jem’Hadar disintegrated when the destructive beam hit them. Garak hadn’t changed the setting of the weapon, it had been set to kill when Raghman gave it to him. The Cardassian’s face was unreadable when he gave the phaser back to her. It did not seem to trouble him that he had just executed helpless prisoners.

Of course not. Kira felt a wave of disgust. How could she have ever believed that the Cardassians had changed?

Raghman smiled and extended her hands towards her audience in a gesture that reminded Kira only too much of Dukat. No-one else seemed to see that. Were all these people fools? ‘Thank you!’ shouted Raghman. ‘Now we can drink to a new beginning!’

They cheered her on.


	7. Chapter 7

### Cardassian penal colony Mantissek, 2362

Elim gasped when the pain lessened. A few days earlier he had not realized how odd it was that his implant wasn’t working, but now he wondered about it. He should not feel such pain, the implant shouldn’t allow it.

Raghman knelt down next to him and moved her hand over his chest. ‘Enabran sired a handsome boy. Who would have expected that? And with his stupid little housekeeper, nonetheless. A shame that I did not discover you sooner.’ Her hand moved to his hip and stroked the side of his upper leg. Elim noticed dispassionately what she did. Part of him had expected it. For a moment he felt sick, but he ignored that. If he wanted to escape from this place one day, he had to survive.

‘What have you done?’ he croaked.

Raghman smiled. ‘With your implant? I know a little about implants, that’s how I was able to alter those of the workers. Yours was comparatively easy to adjust. Did you think the Order would not leave a backdoor? Seems my old codes are still useful for some things.’

Elim closed his eyes for a moment. What did he know about Raghman? She knew many things she should not know. She knew Tain. She had been a member of the Obsidian Order at one point in the past. She was somehow related to the Raghman family, and she looked like a Bajoran.

‘Do you like Bajorans?’ Raghman asked. ‘You have been to Bajor, haven’t you? Not everyone shares Dukat’s proclivities. I have to say that I like Bajorans very much. They are so very sensitive, so emotional. I always loved their reactions.’

‘I prefer my own species,’ he replied. His body relaxed slowly, and the pain disappeared. ‘Dukat’s behavior is despicable.’

Raghman laughed. ‘I agree. The only good thing about it is that my cousin will finally have a reason to divorce him when he begets a bastard on one of his whores. She loves him enough to need such an excuse, the poor child.’ Her fingers touched his cock and Elim shivered when he felt himself harden against his will. ‘When I’m finished pain will be enough to arouse you,’ she said coldly. ‘They gave you the implant because you were too sensitive to pain, isn’t that right? There are better ways to change that. ‘

Elim swallowed. He tried not to be afraid, but it was futile. Raghman terrified him. ‘What do you want with me?’

She smiled again. ‘I want everything, Elim. Everything you are.’

### Bajor, 2370

Julian Bashir watched Garak while he was looking through the data on the Bajoran computer. Garak was enigmatic like always, but Julian thought something disconcerted him. He had no idea what it might be. He was tired. Garak had woken him in the middle of the night to get him to visit Bajor with him, just because Gul Dukat had an unnatural interest in a Cardassian orphan. Part of Julian was intrigued and enjoyed the adventure, and another part just wanted to go back to sleep.

Deela, the Bajoran carer who worked for the orphanage, studied them with suspicion. It was not difficult to see that she did not like Cardassians. Well, most Bajorans hated Cardassians. It must have been difficult for Rugal to be the odd Cardassian child in this home. Julian studied the group of children who watched Garak with a mixture of distrust and hostility. Children could be cruel. How many of these children had lost their parents because of the Cardassians? Wasn’t it better if the child returned to his real parents even if he didn’t want to? Rugal was a child, he could hardly know what was best for him. Julian had a hard time believing that the Bajoran couple loved him as if he were a Bajoran child.

‘What happened to all the other children?’ Garak asked suddenly.

Deela’s face darkened. ‘We have many children here.’

‘Don’t be coy, Madam.’ Garak looked angry, which surprised Julian. The Cardassian was usually very reserved. ‘I’m talking about the other Cardassian children that were in this institution.’

Julian gasped. There had been more Cardassian children here? How many children had been left behind when the Cardassians left Bajor?

Deela met Garak’s gaze with hostility, and Julian could see that she was tempted to refuse an answer out of spite.

‘Please, Deela… This information could be very important for us.’ Julian smiled his most winning smile, and hoped it would be enough. He wanted to know the answer to this question as much as Garak. Deela looked at him, and sighed.

‘I’m not surprised you don’t know it,’ she said to Garak without bothering to hide her contempt. ‘Tiyerta Khalee collected them shortly after the end of the occupation. It was too late for children like Rugal who had already been adopted, but most of the other children were returned to Cardassia.’

Garak stared at her. Julian wasn’t good at reading Cardassian faces, but it seemed that Garak was completely surprised by this answer, dumbfounded even.

‘I wasn’t aware that a Cardassian ship was here during that time.’

‘Oh, they did not come with one of your ships. The political climate of the time wouldn’t have permitted that. There were only five representatives of the foundation, and they came with two freighters from Federation space. One was Vulcan, and the other one was I think from Betazed. They told us that was the reason they were so late – they could not get permission for their own ships, and it was difficult to find freighters willing to transport children.’

‘That’s… good to know.’ Garak smiled suddenly, a smile Julian had learned to distrust. ‘I’m glad to hear they came into good care. How regrettable that it was too late for Rugal.’

‘You are entitled to that opinion.’ Deela left no doubt that she did not agree.

‘What’s Tiyerta Khalee?’ asked Julian curiously, and a bit confused.

‘A Cardassian foundation that takes care of orphans, Doctor, as dear Deela explained.’ Garak held up the data rod he had used to copy the content of the computer. ‘Shall we go?’

Julian frowned. Something was odd about Garak’s reaction, but he knew he would not get answers if he asked directly. Later perhaps.

.

On the way back to the station Elim pretended to analyze the information on his pad, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He knew that Bashir had noticed his surprise, and he would take care of that later, but in that moment he had been unable to hide his reaction. There was no organization called Tiyerta Khalee on Cardassia. If there were, he would know. Even if his remaining contacts on Cardassia were much more dishonest and unpleasant than he had ever suspected, he would have heard of a foundation like that. It was not surprising that the Federation had not thought it suspicious that a Cardassian organization was collecting orphans. The Bajorans might have noticed something, but they were most likely more than happy to be rid of the Cardassians and had ignored their doubts.

Such an organization was completely against Cardassian nature. More than that, it would have never gotten support on Cardassia. Orphans were an unwanted burden, a blemish of society, a _danger_ for the integrity of the state. If they were lucky, relatives took care of them. If not, they survived on the fringes of society as outcasts. Whoever financed such a foundation to bring more of them to Cardassia after Dukat had so elegantly disposed of them would not only earn ridicule, but public displeasure – and most likely a citation for disturbance of the peace. In addition to that there was the name - life energy of the collective. It sounded suspiciously spiritual, and everything spiritual was banned on Cardassia. To sum it up, this organization was fake; it was a smokescreen for something else. The most likely conclusion was that someone on Cardassia – perhaps even the Order – had decided that it was too much of a disgrace or too much of a risk to let these children live. If that wasn’t the case… someone was stealing Cardassian children on a large scale. Whatever had happened to them, it could not be good.

Elim knew he should inform the Order about his discovery, but for some reason he was reluctant to do that. It was irrational. To do so would be patriotic, it would be morally right, and the Order would be grateful for the information even if they hadn’t been involved. And yet, he wouldn’t do it, and he had no idea why.

‘There is something I don’t understand, Garak…’

Elim refrained from rolling his eyes. There were undoubtedly many things that Doctor Bashir didn’t understand. ‘Yes, Doctor?’

‘If most of the children have already been moved to Cardassia, why is Dukat so concerned about the rest?’

‘Is that really the most important question, Doctor?’ Elim smiled. Personally, he believed that Dukat had no idea that the children had disappeared from Bajor. Otherwise he would have chosen a less transparent pretense for his interest in Rugal. Not that Skrain Dukat wasn’t always embarrassingly obvious in his amateurish intrigues. Interesting, however, that the former prefect had missed a coup of this magnitude although he was otherwise so well informed about what happened on Bajor. ‘I think, the more important question is, why now? Tell me, dear Doctor, have we recently talked about the political developments on my home world?’

Like always it was amusing to observe how Bashir moved on from frustration to fascination, and forgot all about his initial thought to focus on a new riddle, while the solution was obvious to Elim. This was the reason why Bashir was the perfect instrument for Elim’s intrigues – and this time, for Dukat’s benefit, he would intentionally reveal who was holding the strings.

### Cardassian penal colony Mantissek, 2364

Elim settled on his back and looked at the ceiling above the bed. The plaster had cracks. The heat on the planet was bad for the material. He massaged his right wrist and grimaced when feeling returned to his numb fingers. A hand moved deceptively affectionate over the ridge on his breast and Elim involuntarily flinched. Then he groaned when arousal mixed with the pain.

Raghman smiled. She had told him several times that the patterns of his ridges reminded her of his father. How she knew what his father looked like naked Elim would rather not know. The thought was too frightening. Admittedly, he did not know how old she was underneath her Bajoran mask. She could be much older than she looked. As old as his father or even older. He considered that for another moment. If that was true, it would explain a number of inconsistencies… He pushed the thought away. If Raghman wanted him to know more about her past, she would tell him.

Elim looked at her questioningly. It would soon be time to return to the mine. Raghman had made him overseer a few months ago. The other overseers didn’t like it, but Raghman made it obvious how much she did not care. She had already executed two of them because she did not like their complaints.

‘You are very handsome when you suffer for me,’ she said.

‘I like to suffer for you,’ he said, and gasped when her fingers pushed against a bruise from the previous evening. It was true. He wanted to please her. Her approval was important to him, and it was better than the alternative. Part of him knew that she was manipulating him. A long time ago he had known all about it, had thought it an art to break people and to remake them. He knew what had happened to him, in an abstract sense. He might know it, but his mind discarded that knowledge as irrelevant. What did it matter? Raghman controlled him. He could not fight her, it was futile to try, or think about it.

Her smile widened. ‘You should go. There has been some trouble in sector two. I trust you will sort it out.’

Elim didn’t ask how she knew that when she had spent the night with him. Raghman always knew what happened in the prison, and who was responsible for what.

‘As you wish, Gul.’

She leant back and studied him while he dressed. ‘Did you regret Procal’s death?’

Elim hesistated, surprised by the question. ‘The man was a traitor. He abused his position for years to undermine the state.’

‘That was not my question.’

He met her eyes and thought about it. ‘His death was an accident. It would have been better had he been executed in public. If I had been more careful, we might have gained more information about his organization during his interrogation. I regret that we did not catch all those traitors.’

‘I see.’ She stretched. ‘Sometimes I think you regret what you did for the Order.’

Elim laughed incredulously. ‘There are things I regret. Procal isn’t one of them. He was a greater danger to the Cardassian state than all Bajoran terrorists combined. Unfortunately our leaders are more concerned about their selfish desires than about serving Cardassia.’ He was surprised how much he meant that.

She studied him thoughtfully. ‘Perhaps Enabran misjudged you. Perhaps…’ She shook her head. ‘You don’t regret it, you say, but did you enjoy it?’

Had he? He had always been convinced that his work was essential for the preservation of the Cardassian state, an invisible, but indispensable part of the Cardassian mosaic. He had been sure that what he did was important and necessary, and he had been proud of his proficiency. Had he enjoyed it? ‘I don’t know. Is it important?’

She smiled, amused. ‘Perhaps not. On the other hand, if you are able to answer this question one day, it will be easier for you to understand your motives, I think.’

Elim felt his neck ridges tense. He was not sure why the topic made him angry, but the feeling twisted in his stomach like an irate snake. ‘I don’t understand how this is important for my work here,’ he said, his voice dangerously indignant.

At other times she would have punished him for this, but this time she just smirked. ‘Oh, it’s not. You have been so very useful for me, Elim. I’m very happy with your work. However, all good things end one day.’

Elim ignored the cold touch of fear her words invoked, and forced himself to trust her. ‘With some luck it won’t be soon.’

Raghman laughed, amused by something that eluded him. ‘Yes. Leave now. I will see you this evening.’

He bowed, and ignored the feeling of unease the discussion had invoked. He was useful for Raghman. There was no reason to be worried.

### Deep Space Nine, 2371

 

‘Do you remember the specifications of the device that Enabran had built? It could turn out to be very useful one day.’

Elim sighed. He would have preferred to forget what happened in the last days, but Raghman asked him for every damn detail. On the one hand he was relieved that she did not hold it against him that he had joined Tain so easily. On the other hand, she was probably just happy that Tain had destroyed himself and all he stood for so spectacularly.

‘I can write down what I remember, but it isn’t much. I didn’t have time to study the device, and I was distracted.’

‘Did you enjoy torturing Odo?’

Elim felt a surprising stir of rage. Of course the question was valid. But if he was honest, he didn’t want to think about it too closely. He had enjoyed it more than he wanted to admit. He looked at Raghman. They were in one of her holosuite programs, in Quark’s modified holosuite. It was at the same time amusing and disturbing that neither Quark nor anyone else had so far found out that Raghman’s little device didn’t just create especially stimulating programs, but circumvented the security settings.

‘No.’

Raghman smiled. ‘I don’t believe you.’

The program they enjoyed at the moment didn’t use those particular properties. It was a simulation of one of the most beautiful vacation spots on Cardassia, not by chance the region where Raghman’s family lived. Legate Raghman had been a member of the privileged elite who could afford that. Elim enjoyed the sights and the warmth, the sense of home, even if it was an illusion. The company could have been better.

‘You may not understand that, but I like Odo,’ he snapped.

Raghman gave a contemptuous laugh. ‘You like him? Perhaps. Nevertheless… you can’t tell me you haven’t missed it. That aside, such sentimentalities haven’t stopped you before.’

Elim closed his eyes. He hated it how well she knew him. ‘Odo didn’t know anything of import. The whole thing was futile. A waste of time. I admit that it pleased me that he betrayed his personal secret to me. Professional pleasure, if you like. I certainly didn’t _enjoy_ the farce.’

‘It has to be so boring for you to be trapped on this insignificant little station,’ she said with false compassion. ‘It’s not surprising that you mingle with Starfleet as much as you do. They are at least amusing. What about Tain, do you grieve for him?’

Elim clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to talk about his father. ‘I’m not convinced he is really dead.’ The countryside around them was beautiful, one of the few regions on Cardassia still rich in plant life. They were sitting on the deck of a restaurant at the border of a lake. Elim had never been in this region before, but if he would ever return to Cardassia…

‘I agree.’ Raghman drank a sip. ‘The old man is tough, but if the Dominion has him he won’t survive for long. Perhaps that is good for Cardassia. Perhaps some things will change for the better.’

This time it was Elim who laughed. ‘You don’t really believe that. If anything, it will create more chaos. Tain was the only one who prevented anarchy. Now, since he didn’t just destroy himself but also most of the Order, he left a power vacuum that will birth nothing but collapse.’

‘Perhaps. Even so, I wonder if it isn’t time for me to return to our home world and play a more active role.’

That surprised him. He had so far gotten the impression that she enjoyed her role as a trader. Elim considered her. Perhaps he had been fooled. She had been very influential once, who wouldn’t want that back? ‘Since Tain can no longer stop you? I thought you had more than enough other enemies. And wasn’t there a trial when you were sent to Mantissek?’

Raghman smiled and twirled her glass between her fingers. ‘Not really. Enabran wanted to keep it quiet. He would have had to explain why I was looking like a Bajoran if I had been officially sentenced. There was no trial, no official accusation. Gul Corian Raghman is a blank slate. She just disappeared a few years.’

‘You are officially Gul?’ he asked with disbelief. He had always thought she had invented that title in Mantissek.

‘I joined the order early enough to have a military career. It was amusing for a time until the conspiracies of the Guls and Legates started to bore me. Traitors in the military are so very obvious and lack imagination. When I got other missions I took a leave of absence, but I retained the rank.’ She leant back in her chair and closed her eyes like a satisfied cat. ‘The military is not what it once was. The Guls in power are fools. The only interesting one is Dukat, and they exiled him because of that girl. Not that it wasn’t to be expected with his constant whoring. They have no leader. My family is still influential. I’m very tempted to use that to instigate a couple of changes.’

Elim studied her. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to be part of Cardassian politics. His people had enough problems. Perhaps he could distract her with a question that had been bothering him for a while. ‘I don’t understand how you can be Legate Raghman’s daughter.’

She raised a brow but didn’t open her eyes. ‘Really?’

‘You were born in the first month of his marriage. His wife was on an outpost lightyears away from him at the time you were supposedly conceived.’

She opened one of her eyes and considered him with an amused expression. ‘It seems you did some research. You’re right. Alas, I assure you that I am Makor Raghman’s daughter. If you ever discover how this is possible maybe I will answer another question about me.’

‘What tempting promise.’ Elim drank the remainder of his kanar. If Raghman really returned to Cardassia perhaps he would see his home world sooner than he had expected. He liked the thought. ‘Why are we really here? You only talk to me when you want something.’

‘Your distrust hurts. Isn’t it possible that I merely enjoy your company?’

Elim scoffed and she smirked. ‘Very well, I want you to do something for me. You may consider it a test if you want.’

She had turned towards him. Elim didn’t like the way she looked at him.

‘I want you to eliminate the founders.’

Elim laughed until he realized that she was serious. ‘You are crazy,’ he said. ‘How am I supposed to do that? Tain had an army, and he failed.’

‘That’s why I think a single agent might be successful. I realize that it will take time. The right moment. One day, it will come. You were one of Enabran’s best, and you are one of the most resourceful people I know. You have my complete confidence.’

Elim shook his head, but he knew he had no choice. Raghman always got what she wanted. ‘I’m flattered. This moment you are talking about will probably never come, but I will do my best.’

‘That’s all I want.’ She chuckled. ‘Look at it like this: perhaps you will get revenge for your father and all the Cardassians who died with him. He would like that.’

Tain would have called him a lunatic, but his father had done some rather insane things himself in his final days. Perhaps Raghman was right and a single agent had better chances than an army. That had been true in the past. If Tain hadn’t succumbed to hubris and had stayed with what he was good at, perhaps his plans would have been more successful. In any case, it would be amusing should it turn out that Elim on his own would succeed where his father and two armies had failed. Just for the sake of this irony he would attempt to do it. Should such opportunity ever arise.

### Subspace message, 2376

Dear Garak,

I wonder if these messages reach you at all. It worries me that I haven’t heard a word from you since you left. Nobody knows what happens on Cardassia, the borders are still completely closed. We haven’t heard anything of Odo, but the gamma quadrant is quiet, and there are no reports of Dominion activity. Is this the calm before the storm, or was Odo successful? It is difficult to trust the truce.

Julian Bashir

### USS Defiant, 2372

 

Sisko had a bad feeling when they reached the rendezvous point, and he wasn’t wrong.

Worf looked up from his console. ‘Captain, I am detecting weapons fire ahead. It appear to be three Birds of Prey attacking two Cardassian Galor class cruisers. The vessels are badly damaged.’

‘Captain, I’m picking up a distress call from Gul Dukat,’ said Dax. ‘Audio only.’

‘Put it through.’

The call was so distorted that it was difficult to understand more than Dukat asking for assistance. Soon afterwards they were in visual range, and Dax put the view on the screen.

The ships in front of them were embroiled in heavy battle. While Sisko was still considering his next move, one of the Cardassian ships started to break apart. A number of smaller ships tried to escape from the wreck, but were immediately destroyed by the Klingons. Their mother ship accelerated suddenly, and collided with one of the Klingon war birds. The ships became wedged, and exploded.

The crew of the Defiant watched, horrified.

‘Two decades of peace with the Klingons, and it all comes down to this.’ Bashir sounded angry, and would have surely said more.

Even Worf seemed disgusted. Sisko himself was livid. Worf had been right; the Klingons were using the Dominion as an excuse to return to their old ways. All this talk about honor, and here they were destroying defenseless escape pods. Even the Borg hadn’t done that.

They couldn’t just sit here and watch this massacre. He would think later about consequences.

‘Arm quantum torpedoes, drop the cloak, and raise shields,’ he ordered. ‘We're going in. Red alert. Commander Worf, transmit a priority one signal to the Klingon ships. Tell them to break off their attack and stand down immediately.’

The Klingon’s answer was an attack on the Defiant that made it easy for Sisko to decide how much he wanted to get involved in the fight.

The remaining smaller ships were attack fighters, which were better able to avoid the Klingon’s fire. Instead of trying to escape they were trying to help the remaining Cardassian ship by attacking the Klingon war birds. They succeeded in distracting them, even though they were not able to cause much damage.

‘I hope the remaining ship is Dukat’s?’ It would be tragic if they had gone through all this effort for nothing.

‘Yes, he is calling us.’

The situation on the Cardassian ship didn’t look good. ‘I must compliment you, Captain.’ Dukat tried to sound unconcerned, but didn’t quiet manage. ‘You are nearly Cardassian in your punctuality.’

Sisko had hoped that the Cardassians would be able to follow them, but Dukat’s engine was no longer functional.

‘Incoming message from one of the fighters,’ Dax said, and added it to the screen.

‘Good to see you, Captain. May I assume you are here to assist us?’ Sisko was surprised to see a woman in the pilot seat. Apparently he had acquired some prejudices over time, one of them that Cardassian women didn’t fly attack fighters. If the grey haired Cardassian noticed his surprise, she did not show it. ‘I began to believe Dukat had led us into a trap.’

Dukat opened his mouth for an angry reply.

‘Yes, we are here to help you,’ Sisko said, before the Cardassians started to argue. Amazing how they had time for that in even the direst situations. ‘Prepare to evacuate. We'll start to beam you over as soon as possible.’

‘You'll have to drop your shields to use your transporters,’ Dukat objected.

‘I have a better idea,’ said the pilot. ‘It would be a shame if we lost our one best chance to survive this. How many functional fighters do you have, Gul?’

‘Three,’ Dukat replied dubiously.

‘Bring the remaining council members on board. We will escort them to Captain Sisko’s ship. If you open your hangar, Captain, you only have to lower your shield for the few seconds it takes us to land.’

‘I think you overestimate the maneuverability of these ships, Madam. This seems to be an unnecessary risk.’ Dukat was obviously not very happy about her suggestion.

The Cardassian smirked. ‘I take from your words that you don’t have the pilots for this job, Gul. I assure you, I have them.’

‘If they manage it, it’s a good plan,’ Worf said. ‘If we modulate our tractor beam, we can reduce the fire power of the Klingon war bird so that our enhanced armor should suffice.’

‘Then it’s agreed,’ said the Cardassian, and closed the connection.

Dukat looked irate, but didn’t protest. ‘If this doesn’t work, I had nothing to do with it,’ he said.

Sisko told Bashir to take some security guards and receive the Cardassians at the shuttle bay, and looked at Dax. ‘Do you think they can do it?’

She shrugged. ‘I have to say the pilots of these fighters are good. The Klingons haven’t hit them once so far, and they have caused some damage despite their size. To be honest their strategy almost reminds me of… the Bajorans.’

‘The Bajorans?’ Sisko looked at the screen and tried to see it. He had to admit he didn’t know much about Bajoran battle strategies, but Dax had discussed them extensively with Major Kira, he trusted her judgement.

Two of the three fighters had landed on Dukat’s ship, most likely to deliver the pilots. Meanwhile, another Bird of Prey appeared, and the Defiant was busy fighting the Klingons. Dukat’s ship was almost out of weapon’s power, and the remaining fighter wasn’t much help.

A few minutes later five fighters and a number of escape pods flew away from Dukat’s ship. The escape pods were obviously a distraction. Two of the raiders drew parallel to the cruiser and activated their tractor beams.

‘They are pushing the ship towards the Klingons.’ Dax shook her head. ‘I don’t think this will work a second time.’

‘No, it’s another diversion.’ Worf pointed towards the screen. As the Klingon ship drew back to avoid collision, the raiders got close enough to attach their tractor beams to it.

‘They are using the modulated tractor beam Commander Worf suggested. The Klingon’s disruptor's effectiveness is at fifty percent. The cruiser is now between us and the Klingons. If we want to lower the shields, we should do it now.’

‘Fighters are approaching,’ Worf said.

‘Do it.’ Sisko frowned. The fighters that were stopping the Klingons from attacking would never make it… in any case, it would have been a miracle had they been able to land all six ships.

‘They’re in. I’m closing the hangar. Shields are up. Incoming message from the Cardassian pilot.’

The woman appeared on screen. ‘Thank you very much, Captain. I suggest you activate your cloak and get us out of here.’

‘What about the crew of the other ships?’ Sisk asked, even though he knew the answer already.

‘Their sacrifice for our people will not be forgotten, neither will the one of the crew members of the Prakesh. Don’t let it be in vain, Captain. Go to warp.’

Sisko nodded at Dax. The Cardassian was right, even though he resented it. They had done what they had come for; the Cardassian council members were safe.

‘Set a course home, Lieutenant.’

Behind them the Klingon ship finally managed to escape the tractor beam, and another war bird appeared. The last they saw of the Cardassian ships was a cloud of disruptor fire.

Dax took a deep breath. ‘Looks like we made it, Ben.’

Sisko nodded. ‘You have the bridge, Commander. Let’s see who we just saved.’

They had been lucky that the shuttle bay had been empty, or the Cardassian’s maneuver would have never worked. Despite this lucky coincidence, they had had to open the door to the cargo bay to make space for all four ships. They stood literally inches apart. It would have been impossible to land another ship, and Sisko realized the Cardassians had known that. They knew the dimensions of his ship better than he did, which was disconcerting.

The Cardassians were obviously not happy about the security guards and Bashir’s blood tests.

‘You know, Doctor, if I were a changeling, I would turn into something less obvious,’ said the female pilot, although she gave Bashir her arm without protest. She was large and thin, and her gray hair was braided into a long pony tail. Sisko wondered how old she was. ‘A part of our ships, for example.’

Some of the guards eyed the ships suspiciously.

‘The suspicion is that changelings helped the civilian government to depose central command and gain control of Cardassia. They could hardly do that as part of your hull.’ Bashir had obviously learned something from Garak.

The Cardassian smiled approvingly. ‘Well, if they were involved, they were obviously more subtle than pretending to be one of us. Since you have now proved this so very efficiently, Doctor, do you think your Klingon friends will realize their error and apologize?’

‘I doubt it,’ said Bashir, and turned towards the next Cardassian.

‘Captain Sisko!’ She came towards him. ‘Today’s hero! Professor Lang, come and say hello to our savior with me.’

Another woman stepped out from the group of Cardassians, and Sisko recognized Natima Lang. The last time he had seen her, she had been locked in one of DS9’s cells and the Cardassian government had planned to execute her. Now she was herself part of this government.

‘I remember you.’

‘As do I.’ He turned to the pilot. ‘I don’t think we have been introduced.’

The Cardassian smiled. ‘I apologize, Captain, how impolite of me. I’m Dr. Raghman, member of the Detapa council. Please accept my sincere gratitude for your efforts to ensure the safety of me and my colleagues. Cardassia is in your debt.’

Sisko was surprised. He hadn’t expected this woman to be one of the council members they had come to save. ‘I will remember that, Doctor.’

‘I’m sure you will.’ Raghman took Lang’s arm. ‘Now tell me, Natima, were you surprised I’m no changeling? I saw you watching me and Bashir.’ She laughed when Lang looked outraged. ‘You were not the only one, my dear. Don’t worry, I don’t hold it against you. I had after all disappeared for some time.’

‘Captain!’ called a too well known voice. ‘Would you kindly inform this security guard that he does not have to monitor my every move? It makes me feel unwelcome.’

Sisko sighed. ‘Dukat. It seems like I owe Lt. Dax dinner. I really thought you would thank me before you start complaining.’

### Deep Space Nine, 2372

‘You have done your part, Garak. Why don’t you head back to your tailor shop?’

It was never difficult for Elim to remember why he hated Dukat. ‘I thought I should first talk to some old acquaintances.’

Dukat sneered. ‘You are delusional, Garak. There is no one here who wants to see you.’

Elim smiled. ‘I think you are wrong about that.’ He opened the door to the council member’s rooms. The Federation’s security guards had in the meantime removed the surviving Klingons.

‘Is it over?’ asked the first man they met. ‘Dukat! Good to see you unhurt!’ He looked at Elim. ‘Who are you?’

Elim smiled. He recognized the man. His name was Gruner, and he was one of Mera Rejal’s supporters.

‘No one of importance,’ said Dukat. ‘He was just about to leave.’

‘Leave? Don’t joke, Skrain. He can’t leave before I get the chance to introduce him.’ It was the first time Elim saw Raghman in her true Cardassian form, and the sight was unexpected. His first thought was that she was old. For some reason he had always assumed she was about his age, even though there had been many hints that this was not the case. The woman in front of him was as old as Tain, even though she was much fitter.

‘Mera, Natima, may I introduce my old friend Elim Garak.’ Raghman dragged the other two women towards them.

‘We know each other,’ said Professor Lang.

‘Really?’ Raghman seemed surprised and Elim remembered he had never told her about Lang. ‘Well, Elim here was a great help in this unfortunate situation. In fact, it was he who informed Dukat of the Klingon’s attack plans.’

Elim smiled and bowed. Dukat’s expression amused him. The man looked as if he had swallowed something disgusting.

‘Really?’ Castellan Rejal studied him. ‘If this is true you have indeed done us great service, Mr. Garak. Without the warning we would have sustained many more losses.’

‘I have only done my duty as a citizen, Madam Castellan.’

‘Well, not all of our citizens take their duties so seriously. Cardassia is in your debt, Mr. Garak.’

He bowed again.

‘Perhaps there is something we can do for Mr. Garak to show our appreciation,’ Professor Lang said suddenly.

Raghman smiled. ‘You suggest we pardon him?’

Elim’s heart suddenly beat faster. He had hoped to make a good impression on the council members, but not that they would consider this so soon.

‘That would be a mistake!’ shouted Dukat. ‘Madam Castellan, you don’t know what this man has done! He is responsible for the death of Barkan Lokar!’

‘Is that true?’ Rejal asked, unsettled, looking at Raghman.

Raghman sighed. ‘Yes, but it was a tragic accident. Garak and Lokar had a disagreement Lokar didn’t survive. The man always had a temper, his wife can testify to that. I know you were friends, Skrain, but these things happen. Unfortunately, for Mr. Garak, the Lokar family was very influential at the time.’

‘These things have changed,’ Rejal said coldly. She studied Elim thoughtfully.

Dukat gasped, apparently he was lost for words. Elim knew of course that he cared little for Lokar’s death. He hated Elim because he had killed Procal.

Professor Lang considered Raghman. Even though she had made the suggestion first, it was Lang who worried Elim. He knew he had said too much during their last meeting, but he had not expected to survive. She knew more than enough to reach the conclusion that he had worked for the Obsidian Order, and to connect Raghman to that wasn’t difficult.

‘It is my pleasure to grant you amnesty,’ Rejal said finally.

‘You are making a mistake!’ Dukat hissed.

Rejal looked at him. Elim suddenly realized that none of the women really liked Dukat. They tolerated him out of necessity. ‘Perhaps,’ the Castellan said. ‘But I’m a woman who pays her debts.’

.

Elim stepped into his quarters. He felt torn between elation and exhaustion. The last few days had been difficult. Not just because of the fight against the Klingons and Dukat’s presence, which already exhausted Elim when he wasn’t forced to cooperate with him. He was sure he would regret one day that he hadn’t shot him in the back. No, it was sickening how everything he knew had come close to annihilation in such a short time. Elim had always known that Cardassia was vulnerable without the Obsidian Order, but so much?

Less than a minute after he had entered the doorbell rang, and Elim opened the door reluctantly. It was Raghman. He stepped aside to let her in. ‘You have done me a great favor today.’

She smiled wryly. ‘Don’t thank me yet. I hope you haven’t started to pack already.’

He closed his eyes. He should have known that it was too good to be true. ‘Why shouldn’t I?’

‘I need you here.’

‘Why should I care what you need?’ he shouted. He knew it was stupid, but he was unable to reign in his temper. ‘I waited ten years for this day!’

‘What I gave you I can take away just as easily.’ She was calm as always, and it enraged him. ‘You will see Cardassia again, Elim, don’t doubt it. Right now, however, I need you here. The crew of this station trusts you. Terok Nor will be the nexus of the coming conflicts. Whatever the next danger to Cardassia, be it the Dominion or the Klingons, it will start here. If you are no longer here, there is no one to warn us.’

Elim gave in to his exhaustion and sat down, closing his eyes. ‘You know I will do my duty to Cardassia.’

‘As you have always done. That’s one of the things I like about you, Elim.’

He didn’t bother to keep the bitterness out of his laugh. Then he looked at her. This old Cardassian woman looked so very different from what he was used to. Her hair was grey. It was very hard for him to consolidate this with the person he knew.

In addition she was wearing her hair long now, in a traditional female style befitting the new persona she had created for herself. Somehow she had only needed a few months to become an essential member of the movement that now made up the Cardassian government.

‘I would have never suspected that you would choose a scientist as your new cover.’

Raghman smiled. ‘It helped that I never claimed to be a very talented terraformer, but it has proven to be an excellent position to become part of the new Detapa. By the way, Professor Lang is a brilliant woman. I’m sure we could have achieved great things together. Unfortunately I made my plans without the Klingons.’

Elim grabbed a bottle of Kanar he kept under his table, and poured himself a glass. He felt that this conversation would be easier if he was less sober. ‘I’m sure there will be new opportunities for you to influence Cardassian politics.’

She nodded. ‘There is no doubt of that. However, I will have to change my strategy in the future. After this disaster I have little hope that Lang’s movement will succeed.’ She patted her braid. ‘I also hate this look, and I’m not a very talented politician.’

This didn’t surprise Elim. Raghman was not a pretty Cardassian, and her current makeup and hairstyle helped little. She had looked better when she was dressed like a man. He had assumed she didn’t care enough for her appearance to change it, or she would have done so. Elim twirled his glass between his fingers. ‘How did you explain the years of your absence?’

She laughed. ‘Very easily. I told them I married, and decided to give up my military career to care for my family. That is an honored tradition, after all. A career in terraforming is much more suitable for a married woman. Especially since my husband was supposedly a farmer in the colonies. I told them that my family died during the conflicts in the demilitarized zone. It’s a reasonable explanation, and it discourages questions about my past.’

‘A farmer.’ Even if Raghman had been what she pretended to be that was ridiculous.

‘A connection my family couldn’t approve of, which explains their silence on the matter.’

Elim had to admit that she had planned her story well, and he was sure she had the records to prove it. It made things easier that she claimed to have lived in the demilitarized zone, where record keeping was sloppy compared to home world. Natima Lang might now suspect a different truth, but it was unlikely she would voice her suspicions.

‘And now that you are a member of the new Cardassian government, what are your future plans? Do you plan to stab them in the back as soon as the military gains power?’

Raghman seemed amused. ‘I have to admit I have little sympathy for both sides. Do you think any of them will be able to return Cardassia to its former glory?’

Elim scoffed. ‘Given the choice between a group of delusional dreamers and self-centered career officers? No, they will both fail and leave Cardassia more devastated than ever, we both know that. Therefore, my question remains unanswered. What are you planning?’

She looked away. ‘I’m not sure yet. We will see how things develop in the next few months. I think for the moment it is best to wait. I have waited for years. As always, time will be on my side.’

### Cardassian penal colony Mantissek, 2368

Elim climbed down the narrow shaft carefully. Why did he have to inspect this damn mine shaft? It was probably Raghman’s sadistic sense of humor. The shaft was comparatively new, the deepest shaft of the mine. The drill had hit a problem somewhere deep down, and they had not been able to return it to the surface. It seemed an eternity until he reached the bottom of the shaft, but he finally saw the faint flicker of the force field thirty feet above the machine. Their sensors had detected fissures at the bottom, even though the signal had been distorted by heavy metals in the stone. The force field was supposed to contain poisonous gasses that sometimes rose up from crevices. However, the air on the other side of the field was clear, cold, and almost better than above. He saw the drill in the narrow light of his lamp. It had become wedged, and was likely broken beyond repair.

Once he had reached the floor he removed the rope and tied it to the machine, and then he looked around. On one side was a crack, big enough for a man to get inside. There might have been water here, although he could not see more than usual moisture now. He crawled inside to take a closer look. It was a cave, big enough to crawl on all fours. He could hear water somewhere further down, and took out his tricorder. The scan showed that there was an underground river below him. The cave was not connected to it, but fissures brought up fresh air, and the walls were moist. All this however didn’t explain what had stopped the drill. The cave went further down, and Elim followed it for a while, but finally decided to return to the shaft.

In the end he scanned the machine itself and was shocked by what he found. It had not hit any disturbances. Overheating had destroyed the engine. Although the machines in this mine were not the best, this was no accident. It had been sabotage. Who would do something like that? Nobody in the colony could hope to gain something by it. When Raghman learned what happened and found the one responsible – and she would – she would publicly torture them to death.

A slight tremor interrupted his thought. Elim looked at his tricorder, but it didn’t show geothermal instability. Despite the mine they had so far never had earthquakes in Mantissek and this would be a very bad time for that to change. Elim looked up the shaft and wondered if he should return to the surface. He had found out what they had wanted to know, even though Raghman wouldn’t be happy about his findings.

What he saw then he would remember for the rest of his life. At first it was a faint gleam on top of the shaft, then a thunderous roar, followed by a giant ball of fire that moved down the shaft towards him.

Elim did the only thing he could think of in his panic, and ran back to the cave. He crawled inside as fast as he could. The fire filled the shaft, an inferno that was only stopped by the force field a few feet above him. He realized this was a gas fire. That was the reason the air had seemed so much better on this side of the force field, the air of the mine had been saturated with gas. The mine… he realized with horror that the whole mine was burning. There was another tremor, and another. The fire went out when the gas was used up. Elim prepared to crawl out of the cave when he heard a grumble above him. The stabilizers in the shaft had been overheated by the fire. They were failing. The shaft was caving in. He crawled further back into the cave, driven by instinct. Minutes later his access to the surface had been closed off by tons of rock. He was trapped in a cave barely three feet high, miles below a mine that had to be completely destroyed by now. The air from the crevices would ensure that he would not suffocate, but who would look for him? He was as good as dead.

Elim tried to stay calm, but failed. Panic consumed him. He screamed and hit his hands uselessly against the unforgiving rock above him.

The moisture in the cave kept him alive for the next days and weeks until Tain found him. The claustrophobia would stay with him for years to come.


	8. Chapter 8

### Subspace message, 2368

Dearest, I have missed you so much in these past years. I can’t wait to see you again. It was cruel of you to neglect me like this, but I forgive you. I will never forget what you did for me. Look at the monument I built you! I’m sure you will love it. And please, pass on my greetings to Mila. I have heard so much about her by now; I look forward to meeting her in person. Your family is part of you, after all, and I cannot help but love them as I love you. See you soon.

### Deep Space Nine, 2371

Odo studied the devastated room. It was interesting how the changeling managed to express discomfort in his body language, despite the fact that this body was only one of his many forms. But of course the constable had been raised by Bajorans and had without doubt copied their mannerisms. Odo was a very attentive observer.

‘Quark has expressed an interest in renting this space if you're not going to be using it,’ he said.

‘Oh?’ Elim wondered what Odo wanted from him. If he had been in Odo’s place, he would have tried to avoid him.

‘He mentioned something about an Argelian massage facility.’

In other words, a brothel. ‘Unfortunately, I don't think Commander Sisko will approve of such an interesting facility on the Promenade.’

‘I tend to agree. But do I think he would approve of a tailor's shop.’

Elim sighed inwardly. Had Odo been sent by Sisko? If so, the human Commander was more callous than he had expected. Of course it was no problem for him to talk to Odo, but Odo… Or was he wrong about that? Was he only projecting his own feelings on the changeling? ‘Do you know what the sad part is, Odo? I'm a very good tailor.’

Odo hesitated for a moment until he began to answer. Apparently he wasn’t sure how Elim would react to what he wanted to say. ‘Garak, I was thinking that you and I should have breakfast together sometime.’

Elim looked up in surprise. Odo’s face was difficult to read, like always, but he seemed to be serious. How intriguing. It seemed Odo was here on his own accord, after all. He studied Odo for a moment. It wasn’t the first time something like this happened, but he hadn’t expected it of Odo. Perhaps because he was still hesitant to attribute normal emotions to the changeling, and the weaknesses that came with them. Maybe that was a mistake. If he was honest he had to admit that he still didn’t know much about the changelings, how they thought and what they felt. Odo had never before tried to spend time with him. Did he think they had a connection now?

‘Why, Constable, I thought you didn’t eat.’

‘I don’t.’

Elim nodded thoughtfully and watched Odo when he left. The changeling was more complex than he had thought. He would enjoy the opportunity to learn more about him and his kind. His father had been tricked by Lovok because he had underestimated the changelings. The same would not happen to him. Aside from that, he liked Odo.

### Shuttle Vortigern, 2372

Elim leant back and looked at the stars shining outside of the shuttle. He was not in the mood to talk to the security guards accompanying him. Six months in one of the Federation’s rehabilitation colonies… it was at the same time vexing and ridiculous. He could have insisted that he was no Federation citizen, but then they might have evicted him from Deep Space Nine, and where else could he go? He didn’t understand the laws of the Federation, and to be honest, he didn’t much care to. He had tried to destroy a whole civilization, and the only thing he regretted was that he had not succeeded. By Cardassian law he would have been sentenced for life to work in a labor camp just for trying to gain control of the ship’s weapons systems. The Federation sent him for six months to a luxurious prison for counseling. What did these people know of the Cardassian mind? Nothing. Well, he was at least glad to be alive. Had he succeeded, he and everyone else on the Defiant would be dead now.

His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed that the shuttle lost speed. They were in a star system unknown to him, far away from their destination. He got up and looked into the cockpit. ‘Is there a problem with this shuttle?’

The human security guard seemed to be asleep. The Bajoran flying the shuttle turned around and smiled. ‘Not at all. We are exactly where we are supposed to be. Or rather, where I wanted us to be.’

Elim felt the woman’s pulse. She was alive, merely unconscious. ‘You plan to steal the shuttle? Or to kidnap me?’

Whatever the man was planning, Elim wouldn’t be able to stop him. He was handcuffed, and the cuffs would make sure that he could not fly the shuttle.

‘Your second guess is right, in a way. Someone wants to speak with you.’

Who could that be? Elim had a lot of enemies to choose from.

‘Whoever it is, they have to be very interested in this conversation if they go to such effort to meet me.’

The Bajoran laughed silently. ‘Perhaps. If you want, put Lt. Shaw to bed and sit next to me. I think you will be more interesting to talk to, and it looks like it might be a while until our rendezvous.’

Odd, but he would not decline the offer. It took some effort to drag the unconscious woman out of her seat and put her down on one of the benches in the rear of the shuttle. Whatever the man had given her, she did not wake up.

The screen showed that they were in the orbit of an uninhabited planet. It was obvious that they were waiting for another ship.

‘Are you really Bajoran?’ His companion lacked the enmity most Bajorans couldn’t or wouldn’t suppress, which made Elim suspect that he was an agent in disguise. Whose agent, was the question. Tal’shiar? Remains of the Obsidian Order? Dominion?

The man smiled. ‘You are good. As much as you are. I was born in Lakarian. It’s an impressive city. I assume you have been there?’

Elim leaned back in his seat. ‘Many times.’ He didn’t know why Cardassians wanted to kidnap him, and it was unlikely they would treat him kindly, but it was nonetheless reassuring. At least he wouldn’t be used against his own people, something that would have been inevitably the case if the Romulans or the Dominion had orchestrated this. ‘The Tojalian Gardens are the jewel of the city. You won’t believe me, but I once planted orchids there.’

### Subspace message, 2377

Dear Garak,

I got your message from last year. Unbelievable that it takes months for these messages to get through. I wonder when you will get this one? I’m glad to hear you are alright. I wish the Federation could be convinced to stop this trade blockade, I have never supported it (and I’m not the only one). Unfortunately, it seems the council’s decision is unanimous; they refuse to lift the embargo as long as there are no new negotiations. The political climate is tense in any case. We still haven’t heard from Odo, and that makes many people nervous. In addition, the Romulans have refused to give up the Federation territories they won during the war. There are rumors about internal conflicts in the Empire, but nobody knows anything for sure. Betazed is still trying to recover from the damage done by the dominion. All considered, this is a bad time for such concessions.

I’m sorry, I know this wasn’t very helpful. I can only hope the situation on Cardassia isn’t too desperate, and both of our governments will see sense soon.

Julian Bashir

### Cardassian capital, 2375

Elim resisted the temptation to cover his nose with his hand. He had taken an open hover car on purpose. He wanted to see the consequences of this war before Raghman’s troops covered them up. Even now the gargantuan construction machines floated above the city like ugly, metal vultures. They collected the bodies – bodies that would soon rest in the mass grave in the east of the city. If they could be identified through their DNA their name would be engraved on a monument with millions of others. His mother deserved more than that. He had decided to recover her body himself to lay her to rest at the side of her brother.

The whole city was covered in a grey cloud of dust that made it seem perpetually dark. The air was stale and reeked of decay. This was the city he had grown up in and it was ruined. He remembered the houses of people he had once known. Ages ago, it seemed, his uncle had planted orchids in this sector that had been famous in all of Cardassia. Nothing of it was left.

When he reached the place where Tain’s house had once stood he felt sick enough to almost throw up. He finally relented and put on the oxygen mask Raghman’s people had put in the car. The clear air was refreshing.

Elim waited a few minutes until he released the construction drone from the car and sent it to work. The upper part of the house had been reduced to dust, but Mila had been in the basement when it was hit. That, together with the fact that the rubble had kept air away from her, made him hope that her body would be mostly intact. He watched while the drone let piece by piece disappear what had once been his home. The machine worked like a replicator – it transformed everything it took up into elementary particles and energy, which would later be used to rebuild the city.

Elim saw something sparkle between the rubble and stopped the drone to find out what it was. Few parts of the house were still recognizable. When he pushed the ashes aside he found a part of Tain’s desk, which had been on the first floor. The tabletop had been made from a rare metal alloy. Vanity – Tain had rarely admitted it, but he had been rather vain. What else justified such a waste of resources? Next to it was the thing that had caught his eye, a small crystal statue that had by some miracle survived the carnage. It was a black figurine of a riding hound preparing to jump. Elim remembered that it had been in a display case next to Tain’s desk. He picked it up and brushed away the dust.

When he had been a boy he had once joined Tain on a ride. He hadn’t known Tain was his father back then, but he had admired him, because his parents admired him. His mother had always told him Tain was an important man, and Elim had wanted to impress him. The first impression he had made had been pathetic – Elim had never ridden a hound before and had been thrown off immediately. That hadn’t stopped him from trying again, until he finally succeeded. Tain had stayed with him the whole time, and in the end he almost seemed proud. It was one of very few good memories Elim had of his father.

What an odd turn of fate that exactly this figurine had survived the destruction. Elim sighed, and was almost tempted to throw it back. Tain was dead. What use was it to cling to such trifle? In the end, however, he put it in his backpack before he sent the drone back to work.

Memory was an odd thing. Sometimes it seemed as if there were two different Tains in his past: the father and mentor he had loved, and the heartless tyrant he had hated. Tain had used and abused him, but he was also the man who had sired and raised him. He couldn’t just forget that.

At the end of the day, after he had laid his mother to rest next to his uncle’s grave, he put the figurine on a shelf in his flat. On the same shelf were a picture Ziyal had painted, a bonsai from Dr. Bashir, and a Bajoran prayer bowl from Iro.

Memory was an odd thing. Everything that happened in life led to good and bad memories. You could learn from them, but in the end only those memories counted that enriched life. No matter how rare they had been.

### Starship Raklet, 2372

Elim touched the walls of the ship and frowned. It was an odd feeling. Almost as if he were touching a living organism.

‘I see that the Raklet fascinates you.’

He looked up and studied Raghman. It hadn’t been a great surprise that it had been her who had had him kidnapped. He was not exactly sad that a double would take his place in the Federation’s illustrious rehabilitation center. ‘Is that the name of this ship?’

‘It was the name of my first ship, if you care to know. It was a Groumall class freighter, ironically it was destroyed by Klingons. This is of course a different ship, but I liked the name.’

He considered the shimmering walls of the Raklet. ‘How was it build?’

She shrugged. ‘I don’t really know. We found it. Along with some other useful things.’

He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was lying. ‘Who are we?’

‘You will see.’ She smiled. ‘Why don’t you join me on the bridge? We have almost reached our destination, and I’m sure you will be interested in seeing it.’

When they reached the bridge, it took Elim a moment to orient himself on the map displayed on the screen. ‘We are in the Gandorian sector?’

It meant they had crossed almost the whole Cardassian territory. They were now close to the Romulan border, in a region most ships avoided. This sector was infamous for electromagnetic storms and other space phenomena that made it impassable. It was surrounded by an asteroid field they had just reached the edge of. The area formed a natural barrier between Cardassian and Romulan space and was one of the reasons for the enduring peace between them.

‘Is something here I don’t know about?’

Raghman smiled. ‘Many things.’ She nodded towards the pilot and the ship moved closer to the asteroid field. The closer they came, the better he could see a passage between the asteroid opening up in front of them. The Raklet moved slowly, but surely, between the obstacles. Finally the ship came to a halt. In front of them was an asteroid formation that seemed oddly organized.

Four more crew members stepped close to Raghman, and all five of them looked at the screen. They were very young, thought Elim. All crew members of the Raklet were very young. The thought troubled him. Just when he felt he had an answer, he was distracted.

In front of them, in the middle of the asteroid formation, a wormhole opened. The Raklet gained speed, and seconds later they were in a completely different part of space. No… a glance of the coordinates told him that wasn’t quite true. They were in the middle of the Gandorian sector. Behind them was a group of satellites arranged in the same formation as the asteroids. ‘An artificial wormhole?’ he asked with disbelief.

Raghman grinned, but shook her head. ‘I’m not a scientist, but I was told that’s not what it is. It’s some kind of door into a different time-space continuum. We fly through it, and here, in this place, is another door. In theory there could be hundreds of them, but these are the only ones we found. They were built by an ancient race, long before humanoid species existed, that’s all we know. Nobody knows how they work. This place was used by Romulan smugglers, we never asked them how they found it, but it has been very useful.’

In front of them was a small star system with two planets. The Raklet moved towards the smaller planet which had a space station in its orbit. It resembled the Nor stations, but it was larger. A lot larger. Elim suddenly remembered that he had seen it before – on a picture Dr. Prelar had shown him.

‘We call it Sandun,’ Raghman said, smiling.

Refuge? I fitting name. ‘Will you tell me now what you mean with ‘we’?’

‘The Antamon.’

The lost children? It made no sense.

‘You will understand it soon enough,’ she said. ‘I found this place a long time ago, at a time when I had much better use for it than Romulan smugglers. I took it, and today it is home for others who need it just as desperately. There are many things I never told you about myself and my people. It has always been a dangerous knowledge, but I think the time has come to share it with you.’ She moved her hand over the frame of the window. ‘You told me once I could not be Legate Raghman’s daughter, because Inara was light years away from him at the time of my conception. This is of course ridiculous. All it means is that she cannot be my mother.’

Elim took a deep breath. Of course, such an obvious explanation. ‘And your mother was…’

‘A Romulan prisoner. She was a Tal’Shiar spy. My father was the agent who interrogated her.’

She looked at her hand. ‘I was told my blood was green when I was born, but my father had done what was necessary to make me look normal.’

‘And Inara?’

‘Hereditary illnesses, she was unable to bear children. I tragic fate for a woman, but my father loved her. She never questioned where the children came from. Most of my siblings were created in a test tube. My father was a perfectionist. The date… was a mistake he didn’t make again with my siblings.’

‘Have you always known this?’ Elim thought back to his own childhood. He had found out very late who his true father was, and he was grateful for that.

‘I found out when I was very young, inevitably. You see… my mother gave me a very special gift. Perhaps I should say both of my parents, but it were her genes that provided the key. Have you never questioned how I know when you lie?’

Elim moved a step back. ‘I thought about it, but… you are emphatic?’

She laughed. ‘Does it scare you so much that you are unable to face the truth? You have known it for a long time, Elim, if you are honest to yourself. I’m a telepath.’

### Deep Space Nine, 2375

_I hope this time he decrypts something that’s useful for us. It would improve morale if we would finally gain one decisive victory against the Cardis._

Elim closed his eyes for a moment and tried to concentrate on the code but it was impossible. The pandemonium of thoughts was suddenly suffocating.

‘Must you stand so close?’ he said angrily and moved away from the other guests. “I’m sorry, but I have to get back to work.’

He didn’t hear the doctor’s answer. It had been bad enough when he was new on the station. He had thought he had become used to the disdainful glances of the Bajorans.

_Why has he remained here? Why isn’t he together with the rest of his race? I hope once the allies have won I never have to see one of those monsters again._

_I hope the Dominion will take it out on the Cardassians when they sustain more losses. Then those damned Cardis finally get what they deserve._

_At last they get a taste of their own medicine._

_Prophets, I hope this time they won’t recover._

He took a deep breath once the door of his shop closed behind him. He didn’t understand why it was suddenly so difficult to block all these thoughts out. He had been able to control it when he left Sandun, or Raghman wouldn’t have let him go.

He called up the data he was working on. It was difficult enough without the distraction. The code was very complex, he had to know, he was the one who invented it.

O’Brien was right, the allies needed a victory. Troop morale had reached a new low. A victory that would cost hundreds of Cardassian lives. He suddenly felt sick.

Why was he helping these people who hated his kind? All they wanted was to kill Cardassians and he was helping them. The soldiers only did what they were told, it was not their fault their leaders had lost their mind. For a moment he desperately wished he had killed Dukat when he had his chance. All of this was his fault. If he had acted in time, none of this would have happened!

He barely noticed it when the door opened. Odo came in and said something. Elim stared at him. For a moment he didn’t understood what was wrong, why he was unable to understand Odo. In the next he almost laughed – Odo didn’t think anything, or rather, he could not sense what Odo was thinking. Raghman had told him that, she had told him the changelings didn’t think like humanoids… But Odo looked humanoid, so his mind tried to touch his and sense where there was nothing to sense. What irony.

Elim gasped for air. It was too much, overwhelming, it was almost as if… ‘I can’t breathe!’ he managed, and everything went dark.

### Starbase Sandun, 2372

‘Cardassian history, Elim. I fascinating topic, one our people neglect too much. We have wasted the archaeological treasures of our planet like trifles, and the history our children learn is the history written in the official records of the empire. There are many things most Cardassians will never know. What do you know about the beginning of our glorious empire, I wonder?’

After the Raklet hat docked, Raghman had offered to show him the station. Aside from that it was apparently also an explanation what the Antamon were, albeit a cumbersome one. After what he had seen, the Antamon were most of all very literally children. The station was full of children, Cardassian children, and half-Cardassian children. They saw them learn, train and play. Some of them watched them when they walked past, and Elim got the impression that there was something in Raghman’s story he did not really understand. One thing was sure, she was not the only telepath on this station. He decided to humor her and recited what he had learned about Cardassian history.

‘It began five hundred years ago, with the end of the Hebitian reign. What we call Cardassia now was Hebitia back then. Our society was divided, there was no unified government. The Cardassians of this time were undisciplined and primitive. They worshiped a number of different gods, only few of those religions still exist. The Oralian way is one of them. Their lives were simple, but they were content this way, they had no ambition to improve. The Cardassia of this time was rich in resources. Things changed when our resources began to dwindle. A time of enlightenment began, when Cardassians realized that our people need a unified and strong system to survive. The structures that governed our people in the following centuries were created then – Central Command, the Detapa Council, the Obsidian Order. We became stronger, more disciplined, we abandoned old superstitions. That’s how we became the superior race we are today.’

Raghman smiled. ‘Yes, that is what the books say. It’s a good story, the triumph of intelligence over ignorance, discipline over weakness. Proof, that it will be rewarded if the individual sacrifices his selfish desires for the common good. It shows that it is our unity, our belief in the state, what makes us strong and superior to other races. Unfortunately there is not much truth in it.’

That was not surprising. Elim had never had much trust in books when it came to facts, something Bashir had always failed to understand. The human always thought the Cardassian books Elim gave him described historical facts, but they were only allegories. What they described was a principle. The principle that order will rule over chaos, discipline over anarchy, state over individual. Why Raghman thought that was surprising he did not understand.

Her smile increased. ‘We never put much effort into understanding our history. In fact, there are parts of our society who had vested interest in keeping it that way. It was one of the tasks of the Obsidian Order to ensure that there is only one, this, version of our history. And yet, there are records of what really happened. Archaeological finds that were sold to other species, traces in existing structures, and in the records of the Order.’

‘It is true that the dominant faction a few hundred years ago called our planet Hebitia. It is also true that they were very religious people. The religious cast was very influential. Our planet must have been very similar to Bajor. The Hebitians already had advanced technology, they were able to travel in space, and they visited other planets. They were peaceful people. Then, about five hundred years ago, at a time they called Han dynasty, things changed. A conflict between different factions on our planet escalated. One of them, the one that won in the end, called themselves Cardassians. It was this conflict, this world war, that turned our planet into the desert it is today. The Cardassians had a philosophy that was fundamentally different from the Hebitian’s. They believed that a part of our people, the part they called Cardassians, was the superior race of our planet, a race superior to all other species. They believed that they were destined to found an eternal empire, a new age of enlightenment and discipline. Sometimes, even today, a child is born on Cardassia that looks different than the rest of us. A child with paler skin, or differently colored scales. Some have white hair.’  

Elim thought he knew what she was talking about, and it was a sickening thought. He had never questioned it, and why should he? It was common knowledge. ‘I had… My mother had a baby with pale skin… but everyone knows this is a birth defect, a genetic defect…’

‘This is why such children are euthanized before other defects can develop, aborted, if the defect is detected before birth. After all, we know that this is for the best. Families with such genes carefully select the partners of their children, to make sure these traits don’t surface. Some men, like my father, have all their children created in a lab to spare their wives the abortion. I have asked you once, Elim: Has Enabran had your eye color changed? Some of these children are born with yellow or red eyes, something that is easy to hide if the doctor is fast enough. Ironic, isn’t it, that these traits were so strong in both of our fathers – traits of a race the Cardassians exterminated. Genocide… they destroyed a part of their own race, billions of individuals who didn’t fit into their glorious new empire. They turned continents that once were rich of life into deserts. And they established a system that trained even children to rigorously suppress every trace of the talents the old Hebitians possessed. They made sure there is only one history in the books, the one they wrote. There are many Cardassians who are able to recognize telepaths and block them. Do you really think that is just a matter of discipline?’

‘What do you want to say with that?’ he asked, unsure. ‘We are a race of telepaths?’ That was hard to believe.

‘Like the Betazoids? No. Some of us have the potential. I am convinced that the priests of the old Hebitians were telepaths. Their genes survived, but only latent. Our race has suppressed these traits for centuries, just as the old Cardassians wanted it. The Obsidian Order has done his work well. Scientists who wanted to debunk the myths of the genetic defects were silenced. All records contradicting the universally accepted doctrine were destroyed. No married woman would give birth to a child without prenatal testing. We avoid unplanned births as much as possible. Prisoners are sterilized, orphans of unknown origin ostracized and killed. It worked for a long time – until we occupied Bajor.’

‘Bajor?’ he asked with disbelief. This story seemed almost too bizarre to be true, if there wasn't proof that she told the truth. It was true, there were records inside the Obsidian Order. Elim thought of all the scrolls Tain had carefully collected. He hadn’t paid much attention to it back then. They were myths, at least he had thought that. Sometimes he had read some of the old stories in the archives, just because he could. He had never taken them seriously. There had also been rumors that there were other tasks of the Order, tasks containing internal security. Elim, who had been mostly concerned with external affairs, had trusted that Tain’s other proteges would take care of that. He briefly wondered why Tain had never included him in this part of their work. Or had that been his plan when he had brought Elim into contact with the Oralian way? Unfortunately he could no longer ask his old colleagues, Tain had killed them all.

‘Hardly any Cardassian likes to hear it, but Bajorans are similar to us. Similar enough to create hybrids without help. Hybrids, whose looks, if they were not Cardassian enough, could be attributed to their Bajoran parent. What’s more, Bajorans have emphatic, if not telepathic, abilities. Surely you noticed that some of their priests are touch telepaths.’ No, he hadn’t, but in retrospect it wasn’t surprising. He thought of Kai Opaka and Vedek Bareil. Some of the Bajoran priests read things from the ‘pagh’ that could no longer be explained with intuition. The Bajorans claimed they were enlightened by their prophets. Telepathy was a much more rational explanation.

‘That was not the only problem, however. The Cardassians stationed on Bajor became careless. The occupation was long, many of them were away from their families for years. They had affairs, gave birth to children whose parentage was unknown. They avoided medical testing to avoid scandal. Gave the children to Bajoran orphanages that weren’t closely observed by the Order.’

‘All the children here… these are the children from Bajor! It was you, you took them from the orphanages!’ Suddenly all these jigsaw pieces fell into place. ‘You want to reverse what happened… you want to bring the old races back?’ He was not sure what he should think about that. Even if this was possible – surely it couldn’t be easy to destroy structures that had persisted for centuries – was that something they really wanted to do? She told it like the old Cardassians had been wrong when they had made these choices, but who knew if that was true. Perhaps there had been good reasons to suppress these traits.

In addition, even if all she said was true, surely it couldn’t be that easy to make these traits resurface. Yes, sometimes children were born like she described, but they were rare. Even if the children on Bajor had been born without medical tests, how likely was it they possessed the traits Raghman wanted? Very unlikely.

Raghman met his gaze with an unreadable smile. ‘That is one reason, yes. The other reason is that these children have no families, no divided loyalties. The Antamon are the only family they know. They owe me their lives – and they will never forget that.’ She looked down on the boys and girls below them. ‘These children are the future Cardassia’s, Elim. With their help, we will renew ourselves and become what we always should have been. It’s not a weakness. It’s a new strength. You will see.’

Elim wasn’t sure if he agreed. On the one hand, he could see the advantage telepaths would bring. Telepaths who were completely loyal to Raghman? That was different. Had his father known of this?

‘Enabran knew a few things about me. Some things I haven’t told you yet. Perhaps… later. He didn’t know anything about Sandun, or the Antamon.’

It was the first time she had obviously answered directly to one of his thoughts. It made him shiver. ‘You said Cardassians are able to block telepaths.’

She laughed, and this time there was an ugly note in her laugh that he remembered from Mantissek. ‘Yes, but _you_ are not able to block me, Elim. I made sure of that.’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t understand.’ He didn’t want to understand it, if he was honest.

She smiled and stroked his face with cold fingers. ‘You know you can block other telepaths, Elim. You have successfully eliminated telepaths for the Order, and Enabran knew very well why he gave those assignments to you. But I repeat it: you cannot block me. You can’t stop me from playing with your thoughts and planting suggestions in your mind. You let me in, all those years ago, and the first thing I did was to make sure that this door will always be open to me.’

He felt sick, but didn’t move away from her hand. ‘Why?’

‘You know why.’

She had tortured him, and turned him into her puppet, just because… ‘Revenge on my father.’

‘Yes!’ She pulled her hand back and clenched it into a fist. ‘He was determined to destroy me and everything I cared for, and he almost succeeded. But I survived, and I swore to pay him back for everything he did to me and my family. I could have killed you, but that would have been too merciful. I want him to die knowing that he has lost everything. Everything!’

‘You must really hate him.’ Elim couldn’t move, and he didn’t try. He believed her, and it wasn’t as terrifying as he had thought. Part of him had probably always known.

She looked down on the children and her hands clenched around the railing. ‘You cannot imagine how much.’

### Breman Province, 2376

Elim had tried everything to figure out the secret of the little figurine, and he was close to losing his patience. He started to suspect that Tain had started to share the decadence of the other legates in his old age.

In a fit of frustration he grabbed the figurine and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and broke, to his astonishment, in two pieces. When he bend down to pick them up he finally discovered what the statue had hidden. A data crystal. He picked it up hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to know what it contained.

When he finally decided to put the crystal into the interface of the desk he was rewarded by hearing Tain say two words he had never uttered in his life.

‘My son,’ said the holographic illusion of his father that had appeared above the table. ‘If you hear this message, it means I’m dead and our attempt to put an end to the danger the Dominion represents has failed. It also means that you have finally returned to Cardassia. If I am honest, I have never really doubted you would.’ Tain grinned briefly, before he became serious. ‘I know that my failure must have led to chaos and anarchy on Cardassia. My only justification is that I firmly believed that I was acting in the best interest of our people.’

Elim twisted his face. If his father had thought of Cardassia, he would have never been tricked by the Dominion. Tain’s motivation had been hubris, the conviction that he alone knew what was best for Cardassia. He had paid with his life for his hubris, but Cardassia had paid a far steeper price.

‘You have a great task ahead of you, but if someone will be able to master it, it will be you.’

Was that the way Tain tried to manipulate him even in death? Flattery? Elim admitted that he would have once given his life to hear those words from his father. Now they only evoked bitterness, and a hint of disgust. It had taken years, but he had finally outgrown Tain’s influence.

‘Get to the point, Enabran’, he muttered. ‘You always loved the sound of your own voice too much.’


	9. Chapter 9

### Deep Space Nine 2373

Elim landed a hard kick to his opponent’s ribs and the man fell. Another kick to the neck and he was dead. The holograms didn’t really satisfy him.

Since he had returned from Sandun he felt on edge, full of nervous energy. He had trained with the children there and slowly regained his former strength. In the beginning it had been humiliating how easily mere teenagers had been able to beat him. Elim had been a good fighter once. It had made him competitive, and at the end of the six months he had proven to himself that he had not lost his old skill.

After his return to Deep Space Nine he had continued the training in the holosuite, but oddly enough he was still improving. The computer had made his opponents more challenging over time, but it was not difficult for him to adapt. Elim would not lie to himself, he was no longer a young man. Something had happened in Sandun he did not understand. No doubt his new vigor was related to it.

In the beginning Elim had been happy about it. The station was more tolerable, he felt stronger and healthier. However, over time there were side effects. He felt restless. It became more and more difficult to play his role, to pretend he was nothing more than a harmless and humble tailor. Yesterday he had almost struck one of his customers. The Bajoran had provoked him, but he couldn’t afford to lose his temper like that. His place on the station depended on the Bajorans’ and Starfleet’s belief that he was mostly bluster and no bite.

In Sandun he hadn’t felt this tense, but he knew why. Raghman.

He had tried to meditate, but the techniques he had learned in the Order were useless. Elim had never been an impulsive man. After Bamarren it had never been difficult to control his temper. That he was so easily provoked now was embarrassing. All the more because he didn’t know why it was happening or how to change it.

Or rather, he could think of only one solution, and it was one he feared and resented.

Elim took a deep breath. He had almost two hours left, and he knew another fight would not help. He had to face his fear, he had no choice. ‘Computer, console.’

Raghman had shown him how he could use the extensions she had made Quark install. There were no programs for them in Quark’s database, but he had the crystal with him. He only had to write a few changes to get what he wanted.

Elim closed his eyes for a moment before he hit the button. Perhaps there was another way, but he didn’t know it, and his time was running out. In the end he was still Tain’s son, and his only solution was the one Tain would have chosen. His father would have been amused, he was sure.

.

The five Cardassians circled around him. Elim was used to them by now. He knew they were too strong for him; he had programmed them to be. That didn’t mean he would not put up a fight. The fight distracted him from what would follow, and he enjoyed the challenge.

It took some time until they subdued him, and by then he had enough injuries to be hardly able to stand. Some of the injuries were part of the simulation; the program avoided heavy injuries, otherwise he would have required Dr. Bashir’s help more than once. He might not have any broken bones, but it sure felt that way.

Two of the men dragged him up and pushed him through the door into another room. Elim had programmed this room from his memories. It was a room in the interrogation center of the Obsidian Order headquarters; a room he knew like the back of his hand.

‘Are you sure you want this?’

Elim met the eyes of the hologram. No, he didn’t want it, but it was necessary. He started to undress. No reason to ruin his suit. ‘Yes.’

‘You know what you have to do to stop this.’

‘Yes.’ The program would end automatically fifteen minutes before his time was up.

The two men grabbed him and dragged him in front of the desk. Elim struggled without consciously deciding to do so, but he was too weak to fight them by now. Raghman had never been able to eradicate his fear of pain, despite her best efforts. Now he was hurting himself to condition himself to be a good Bajoran pet.

Elim chuckled bitterly. He had no choice if he wanted to stay on the station. He could not wait until his aggression grew out of his already weak control and he really hurt someone. A Bajoran, or worse, a member of Starfleet. The dear doctor practically asked for it. It would be almost worth it just to see the look on his face.

Elim had never really understood what the doctor thought. Yes, they had lunch together, but that didn’t make them friends! Dr. Bashir knew Elim had worked for the Obsidian Order, he had seen him kill people in cold blood. Did he think he was a tame killer? Did he believe Elim was on his side? Bashir behaved as if he were one of his Starfleet buddies, someone who would never stab him in the back. Humans were incredibly naive.

Elim looked aside when the woman raised her remote. It was just an illusion made from energy; the true control unit was part of the crystal he had attached to the holosuite’s interface. The result was the same. Elim screamed when pain filled him.

.

‘Are you alright?’

Bashir had a certain look in his eyes. The unrelenting look that said he would not let this go.

‘You look like you are in pain.’

‘I assure you, Doctor, I am completely well.’ Except for some bruises and the exhaustion caused by an hour of torture. The truth was, Elim was fine. He felt much better than he should or had wished for. That only meant that he had to extend the program next time, or, if that wasn’t possible, increase the intensity. Elim smiled and drank some Kanar. ‘But I truly appreciate your concern.’

Bashir frowned. Yes, Elim knew the doctor could see he was in pain. Without doubt he was moving more stiffly and carefully than usual. However, if he admitted it Bashir would only try to drag him to the infirmary, and that was the last thing he wanted.

‘Well, I hope you don’t disappear again.’ Bashir still tried occasionally to find out what had happened to Elim’s implant. Elim thought it was amusing.

‘I promise you, Doctor, if I feel the urge to visit my friends on Bajor again, you will be the first to know.’

Bashir’s face darkened, but he didn’t say anything. Of course even the doctor could see through the transparent lie, but the funny thing was, he didn’t call him out about it. He just brooded, as if his accusing gaze would be enough to force Elim to tell him the truth.

Elim smirked, and drank more Kanar. He enjoyed their lunchtime conversations.

.

Elim heard the hiss of the door, and for a few seconds he didn’t realize what it meant. The next moment he heard someone gasp and almost feared to open his eyes.

‘Stop it! Computer, stop this program!’

As expected nothing happened, the computer was programmed to react only to Elim’s commands. How had she been able to get in this holosuite? He would have to have a serious talk with Quark.

‘Stop program,’ he croaked. He fell to the floor when the simulation ended, and pushed himself up with some effort. ‘Ziyal… what are you doing here?’

The young woman looked down at him with a horrified gaze. Elim knew it wasn’t a pretty sight. She should have never seen him like this. ‘Bashir said… I hacked the security codes.’

‘Curse Bashir! The dear doctor should stop meddling.’ Part of him was proud of her. Elim had started to teach Ziyal how to code, but he hadn’t thought his pupil was already so advanced. A larger part was angry – at Bashir. Was the human unable to stay out of Elim’s affairs? Elim coughed. Bruised ribs. Felt like he couldn’t breathe and hurt with every breath. A very uncomfortable paradox. He had started to overrule the safety protocols when he had realized that his injuries healed unnaturally fast. It weren’t only the after effects of the pain stimulator that disappeared faster and faster, the same was true for superficial wounds. He had not dared to allow heavy injuries so far, but he had the feeling those would heal too. It was very disconcerting.

Ziyal knelt down next to him and put her hand on one of his bruises. ‘What _is_ this?’

‘Something you should not have seen.’

He moved away from her, got to his feet, and started with some effort to dress.

She looked helplessly up to him. ‘Please Elim, talk to me. Why are you doing this to yourself?’

Elim scowled. Ziyal was a smart woman, and she knew him. She didn’t even consider that someone might have forced him to do this. No doubt Dr. Bashir would have drawn a different conclusion.

‘It’s something I need,’ he said. He did not expect her to understand. How could she? But he wanted her to accept it. He could not allow her to interfere.

‘Why?’

‘To survive on this station?’ He met her eyes without flinching, and in in the end she looked away.

‘How many times have you done this? I can’t believe I didn’t notice it earlier!’

‘Don’t blame yourself. I took great care to hide it from you.’ Efforts Dr. Bashir had destroyed with a few ill-chosen words. If the doctor had been here right now… All in all it was very good he wasn’t. Ziyal got up and looked at him, until he finally answered her question. ‘Every week.’

She pressed her lips into a thin line, and stepped closer. ‘You have to be in such pain…’

‘That’s pretty much the point,’ he grumbled.

Ziyal gently stroked his cheek, and for the first time he could not tell what she was thinking. In the end, she pulled his head down towards her and kissed him.

Elim was surprised for a moment, before he returned the kiss. She accepted it. He should have expected that.

### Starbase Sandun, 2372

Elim walked along the habitat ring of the station. Sandun was similar to the Nor stations, although there were some differences he had yet to define. One thing was sure, the Antamon’s technology was far more advanced than Cardassian technology. Raghman had said that they had scavenged technology of other races, among others of the old race that had built the portal. That explained some things, but not everything. The ships in orbit looked like misshapen freighters, but if the Raklet was an example, they were much more than that. There were several areas of the station he didn’t have access to, and the two men who followed him within some distance were not trying to be inconspicuous. He would have loved to know what happened there.

A few feet ahead of him was a woman who might be able to answer some of his questions. He walked faster to catch up to her. ‘Miss Ghemor?’

She turned around and hesitated for a moment until she greeted him.

‘I met your father,’ Elim said. ‘He is a great man.’

‘I’m surprised to hear you say that,’ she replied, obviously reluctant to talk to him.

‘Why? Because he conspired against the state? Cardassia’s current government is corrupt and deserves every opposition. Your father is a patriot, I respect that.’

She smiled. ‘Thank you, Mr. Garak. My father and I were often at odds, but I always admired him. Gul Raghman told me how you helped with his escape. My family is in your debt. Please, call me Iliana.’

Elim was surprised. That was a momentous statement. Iliana might have no opportunity to pay this debt, her family had little hope to return to Cardassia, but that could change.

‘I’m honored, Iliana. My first name is Elim.’

She nodded. ‘Did you have the chance to see the arcades in the station’s upper part?’

‘No, not yet.’

‘There is a very nice restaurant up there. Why don’t we have lunch together? I’m sure you can tell me some things about my father Raghman didn’t know.’

Elim studied Iliana Ghemor, and he realized this young woman loved her father dearly. What a waste. Here was Iliana, trapped on this station, and her father, in exile. Two Cardassian patriots, who could have done so much good for their people.

The arcade turned out to be a huge arboretum above the promenade. Sandun had more levels than Terok Nor, and several rings between the habitat ring and the docking ring. So far, Elim had only seen the innermost part of the station. Iliana had been right, the arcades were impressive. Elim looked at the wealth of plants, an almost decadent excess, even for Cardassian standards. It had to take incredible amounts of water to keep all this alive.

The restaurant was situated above the garden, with a balcony from which one could not only see the whole garden, but had also a great view of space and the planet outside of the station. Elim remembered the photo Dr. Prelar had shown him. The event must have taken place in one of the outer rings of the station. Again he wondered what was placed there.

‘You must have some talented botanists’, he remarked when they took their seats.

Iliana nodded. ‘We have many talented scientists here.’

This caught his attention, but she didn’t elaborate on it. Instead, she asked him about her father, and he told her what he remembered. He noticed that it disturbed her a little that her father had been so easily fooled into thinking that Kira was her, and that he had gotten along so well with Kira.

‘The irony of it is, I would have almost become Kira,’ she said. She pressed her lips together. ‘The Shakaar killed my fiancé, I would have loved to destroy them, but our people were unable to capture Kira. Because of this, I became Pala Timar, a woman suspected to be in contact with the Entora resistance cell. Sometimes I wonder if things would have been different if we had waited a few months.’

She was quiet for a moment, lost in thought.

Elim focused on his meal. He hadn’t eaten good Cardassian food like this in ages. The food of the replimate was filling, but almost inedible. Quark might know how Cardassian’s liked their food, but he almost never had the ingredients. No profit, with only one Cardassian on the station.

He was distracted when the wormhole-like portal among the satellites suddenly opened. Now that he had time to study it he could see the differences to the Bajoran wormhole. It looked as if the space between the satellites twisted into a whirlwind of blue light, until a ship appeared in its center. As soon as the ship moved out of the anomaly, it disappeared. The arriving ship looked like a Drakiri freighter, but there were some distinctive differences. While most of its body was spherical, like the freighter’s, the star-shaped engines reminded him of Bajoran design.

‘What kind of ship is this?’ he asked, fascinated.

Iliana looked disinterested outside; apparently the sight was commonplace to her. ‘It’s just a debris collector. They pick up rubble we use to build ships.’

Again she did not say more about that. Elim was tempted to ask more questions, but changed his mind and switched to another topic. If the Antamon build other ships than those he had already seen, Raghman obviously didn’t want him to know about it, otherwise she wouldn’t have avoided his questions every time he asked.

‘How come that you are here now?’ It was a question that had bothered him for a while. He had noticed that there were a number of former Obsidian Order agents on the station, all agents who had been stationed on Bajor.

Iliana looked surprised, then sighed. ‘I thought you knew… but I guess I’m wrong about that, after all you were no longer working for the Order when they made the decision.’ She hesitated for a moment. ‘When our people left Bajor, all agents that were still stationed on Bajor were left behind. It’s not really clear why. Most likely it would have been too difficult to explain us. Officially they blamed us for what had happened on Bajor. It was our task to destroy the resistance, and we failed at that task. Bajor was lost. To leave us there was our punishment for our failure.’

For a moment, Elim was shocked. He could well understand Tain making this choice, his father had always been a pragmatist, but it had been one of the more atrocious things he’d done. The task of these agents had been doomed to fail from the very beginning. They were young, idealistic Cardassians who had put their lives on the line for Cardassia… to repay them like this was outrageous.

‘And Raghman found you?’

‘Found, saved… we all owe Raghman our lives one way or another.’ She twirled her fork between her fingers. ‘You have to understand, the Order loathes talking about it, but those assignments rarely went as planned. Perhaps that was another reason we were left behind. Before we left, they told us we would play a significant part in protecting Cardassia. But the reality was different. They sent us there, with the memories of Bajorans, without anyone knowing who we really were. I don’t know why they thought we would all be able to infiltrate the resistance. Some managed to do so. Some of them ended up in labor camps because they did not give up their real name when they were captured, or because the ones responsible never asked. What are a few more Bajorans with a number? Most of us lived like regular Bajorans. Very few of us still have the same opinion about the legitimacy of the occupation after that. It becomes difficult, once you’ve seen it from the other side.’

She stopped, and looked up. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t expect you to share my opinion. I have to admit the memories of that time have made me a little bitter.’

Elim smiled. ‘Maybe I surprise you with this… I never thought the occupation of Bajor was particularly glorious.’ He had done his part in the fight against the Bajoran terrorists, and he still thought of them as such, but it was true that he despised the way their occupational forces had acted on Bajor. ‘What happened to you there, if I may ask that?’

Iliana looked away. ‘I don’t like to talk about it, but it’s no secret. You have to understand, Pala Timar never belonged to the resistance. Her cousin was in the resistance, yes, but he died before I replaced her. The resistance did not trust her, because her cousin had told them that she had tried to convince him to leave. When I came to Amlanth with her memories to look for her cousin, nobody from the resistance contacted me. Instead, I caught the attention of one of the local Guls, who was tasked with finding Bajoran women for Terok Nor. That’s what became of me, a whore for Dukat and his men. That’s not even the worst; the worst is that I think he knew. I think he knew who I really was, but Dukat has always hated my father. It must have been a vindictive pleasure for him to see me disgraced like that.’ She had clenched her fingers around her cutlery. ‘I bet he is only waiting for me to come back to Cardassia to humiliate my father.’

‘And because of this you stay here.’ Dukat had committed so many atrocities that execution was almost too merciful for him. It was obscene that a man like him was still valued by Central Command. Just another example that it was rotten to the core.

Iliana scoffed. ‘That’s not the only reason. The irony is, Pala Timar did not hate Cardassians. She was a timid, shy woman, who wanted only to be left alone. She would have never joined the resistance. But I was, memories or not, not Palar Timar. I thought I knew what hate was when the Bajorans killed Ataan, but back then I had no idea what real hate felt like. That, I learned on Terok Nor. At some point the resistance contacted me after all… what success for the Order, wasn’t it?’ She laughed mirthlessly. ‘I joined them out of conviction. Who would have thought that my greatest success as an agent of the Order would be to become what I had once thought I hated – a fanatic murderer of my own kind? Can you imagine what I felt when Raghman returned my memories? I had thought I was a freedom fighter for the good of Bajor. From one moment to the next I became that what I hated – in both of my lives. I threw up for hours.’

Elim considered her. He had always been skeptical about the Order’s sleeper project. It was one thing to send agents on missions looking like Bajorans, another thing entirely to give them the memories to match. It led to numerous problems, Iliana was the best example. The success rate of the project didn’t justify the number of agents it ruined. ‘I cannot imagine what you must have felt,’ he said with compassion. ‘It’s understandable if your feelings for Cardassia have changed after that.’

She shook her head. ‘You misunderstand me, Elim. My feelings for Cardassia haven’t changed. I love Cardassia. What I hate are men like Dukat, who destroy us from within. These people, who have no true values, are Cardassia’s real enemy. That’s why I joined Raghman. Not only because she saved me, but because she swore to eradicate this cancer that poisons our society. I want us to become something the rest of the quadrant can look up to. I want other species to speak of us with admiration instead of disgust.’

Elim was fascinated by the change these words wrought in Iliana. The woman who had only minutes before cowered and trembled now had an almost fanatical gleam in her eyes.

‘Do you really think Raghman will be able to accomplish that?’

Iliana straightened and smiled. ‘She will, because the Antamon will help her. _We_ will accomplish it.’

### Deep Space Nine, 2373

‘A penny for your thoughts.’ Jadzia had told one of Emony’s stories for the last fifteen minutes, and it was obvious Ziyal hadn’t heard a word of it. The young woman stirred her food without eating it, and was obviously elsewhere in her thoughts.

Now she woke up and looked at Jadzia with confusion. ‘What?’

‘It’s an old saying from earth. It means, I would love to know what bothers you so much that my amazing past is so incredibly boring to you.’

Ziyal blushed and looked embarrassed at her plate. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t plan to be rude.’

Jadzia laughed. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not vain. I am however, if you didn’t know that already, very curious. So?’

Ziyal smiled fleetingly and was quiet for a moment. ‘Why would someone get on purpose into a situation that causes them pain?’ she asked finally.

What an odd question. ‘Emotional pain or physical pain?’ she asked.

Ziyal looked startled, as if it hadn’t occurred to her to make the distinction. ‘Physical pain.’

‘Does this have something to do with your father?’ Jadzia asked, concerned. Dukat was a difficult man, and sometimes she wondered what he told the girl when the two talked with each other. Sometimes Ziyal said things that did not seem like her.

The young woman quickly shook her head, perhaps too quickly. ‘No, it’s just something I heard somewhere. It… confused me.’

‘Well, it depends…’ Jadzia said carefully. ‘There are many reasons. Klingons have many rituals that include pain. To endure pain is a sign of strength and honor for them. Some people seek out pain to prove something, or to escape other feelings. That’s not very healthy, as you can imagine. Most of the times there are better ways to deal with their problems. Others on the other hand are more interested in the risk and thrill than the pain; they accept the pain because they enjoy something it is part of.’ She hesitated a moment, then she continued. Ziyal was an adult, after all, and Jadzia had never hesitated to speak her mind. ‘There are of course also people who enjoy pain on its own. Some people find pain arousing.’

Ziyal looked surprised, and completely unimpressed by Jadzia’s last statement. It occurred to Jadzia suddenly that she had no idea how extensive the sexual taboos among Cardassians were. Bajorans rarely talked about sex, and at least Kira was uncomfortable with the topic, but Ziyal had not grown up with Bajorans. She suddenly remembered that one of their Cardassian guests had once propositioned O’Brien after only knowing him for a few days. Was Ziyals question related to sex? That sent her concern in a completely different direction.

‘There are really a lot of reasons why people hurt themselves, aren’t there?’ Ziyal said finally, thoughtful. ‘Weird, I never thought about that.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to tell me what made you ask this question?’ Jadzia asked. ‘Ziyal, you know you never have to let someone do something to you you don’t want, do you? Even if they say it is proof of your love.’

Ziyal stared at her and for a moment Jadzia was really concerned, until the young woman laughed out loud. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said when she caught her breath. She became serious. ‘I know you always think the worst of Elim, but you could not be more wrong. Elim would never hurt me. I wish you would finally believe me when I say that.’

‘I believe you,’ Jadzia said, and felt very stupid all of a sudden. Everyone with eyes in their head could tell Garak adored Ziyal. Ziyal was right, and she had let herself be influenced by idiotic prejudices.

Ziyal smiled. “Really, it was just a stupid question. It’s nothing to do with anything. Still, thank you for satisfying my curiosity.’

‘My pleasure. You know you can always ask me anything.’ Jadzia still didn’t believe the question had been completely random, but she did not ask further. Ziyal was a grown woman, and she was not stupid. Jadzia trusted her to know what she was doing.

### Internment camp 371, 2373

When Martok brought the message Tain was dying, Elim was tempted for a brief moment. Not just a moment, all the way back to their cell while Bashir accompanied him. Tain would ask him for Shri-tal, even though he had never recognized him as a son. He wished with every fiber of his being to refuse. Then, when they came into the cell and it turned out that Tain was blind, the temptation was even greater. Here, without effort, he could expose Tain as the monster he was, could force him to publically acknowledge their relationship. In the presence of the human, without Tain ever knowing. Was that not the ultimate vengeance?

Elim looked at his dying father. It was a difficult decision. Revenge, or the secrets his father would otherwise take to the grave? In the end there was no real choice. Bashir was full of typically human compassion when he left. Of course he did not realize what was happening, had no idea what he missed. How many of Elim’s former colleagues would sacrifice their firstborn to be in this room with him now?

Elim took his father’s hand. ‘We are alone.’

Tain’s hand was cold and dry. His mind was wandering, and his words proved it. Elim quickly became impatient with the list of old enemies who had all been already eliminated by Ghemor, Dukat, the Klingons or the Dominion. ‘Father…’

‘You are not my son!’ Even in death his father remained a liar. Rage and disappointment made Elim freeze, and he almost wished he had asked Bashir to stay. But no…

‘What does it matter now? You will be dead soon, and most of what you accomplished with you! Can you not for once in your life tell the truth?’ Elims voice had changed to an angry hiss, but he could not control himself. He tightened his grip on his father’s hand until he felt the bones beneath his fingers. ‘Tell me something useful! Tell me what you know about Raghman!’

Tain gasped. ‘Makor Raghman…’

Elim opened his mouth to interrupt him, he had heard more than enough of dead men – but Tain’s next words silenced him.

‘…was my predecessor.’ Tain’s words were distorted and slow, but his eyes were clear. He knew what he was talking about. ‘Not on paper, of course not, he retired a long time before…’ Tain coughed. ‘I got the idea from him, a puppet in his place, he was always the puppet master, so much easier… thought he could control me the same way… knew I was in Bamarren with his daughter… thought I was just another lovesick fool… he was the fool, he underestimated me…’ Tain grinned, still full of the old arrogance.

Elim thought suddenly he knew where this was going and he felt sick. He was wrong. What Tain told him next he could not have imagined in his worst nightmares.

‘I found his secrets,’ Tain croaked. ‘It wasn’t easy, of course not, but it was there, in the gaps between the records. Makor had experimented, back then, when he was still officially head of the Obsidian Order. A project… in greatest secrecy… he wanted to create better Cardassians, you see… smarter… stronger… perfect agents… perfect soldiers…’

Elim felt suddenly cold. His eyes moved around the cell and looked for hidden surveillance devices. There hadn’t been any indication they were there, but just the possibility… Tain must in his delirium have forgotten where they were.

‘He took material from other species… Humans… Romulans… but it failed… the creatures they created turned out wrong… uncontrollable… aggressive…’

Elim remembered the history of Earth he had read recently. Khan Singh. A war that had almost destroyed the planet. Did his people never learn from other’s mistakes? He scowled when he answered his own question. Of course not. Perhaps Makor had even been inspired by Earth history. Cardassians were always arrogant enough to believe they would succeed where others had failed.

‘He cancelled the project… destroyed the subjects… all… except one…’

The free hand of his father suddenly grasped at him and clawed with almost frightening strength at his jacket.

‘You have to eliminate her, Elim. I tried, when I found out… but she… she was in my head before I could… I was too slow… she is an abomination… should have never existed…’

Tains eyes widened in understanding and his hand fell away. ‘Too late… it’s too late… perhaps Skrain… did us a favor… let Cardassia burn.’ He laughed hoarsely, and Elim moved back. Tain had rarely looked more monstrous than in this moment. Then the laughter faded, and his father was dead.


	10. Chapter 10

### Deep Space Nine, 2373

Elim froze when he saw the two women together on the promenade. Raghman, this time in her Bajoran form, had linked her arm with Ziyal's and both were deep in conversation. The rush of panic filling him surprised him. He had been unable to admit how much Ziyal meant to him. He was not only with her to provoke her father. He really felt something for her. And now Raghman had found out.

They entered his shop together. Ziyal seemed relaxed, apparently she got along well with Raghman. It was not surprising, Raghman could be very charming if she wanted to be.

‘Hello Elim.’ Raghman’s smile seemed honest, but he knew it was fake. ‘You didn’t tell me about your lovely new companion. Congratulations.’

‘We haven’t been together for long.’

‘I met Corian in Soran’s gallery. She is interested in the new Bajoran artists, just like I am. I was so surprised to hear you know each other. ‘

Ziyal’s innocent delight was almost painful. Raghman didn’t care one bit for Bajoran art, even though she might know enough about it to pretend. ‘Yes, we have known each other for some years.’

Elim didn’t manage to hide his agitation, and Ziyal wasn’t stupid. Her eyes narrowed and she looked at Raghman, and then at him. ‘I got the impression you were friends.’

‘Friends, business partners, and more. Isn’t that so, Elim?’

Elim suppressed the urge to make a fist. ‘Yes, very good business partners.’

Raghman lent against the wall and grinned. ‘To be honest, I’m here to discuss some business with you, Elim. Do you have time for a more… private conversation?’

Ziyal studied both of them, and it was difficult to tell what she was thinking. ‘I better go,’ she said finally. ‘I have a dinner appointment with Nerys today. See you tomorrow, Elim.’ She pressed her hand against his cheek in a rare possessive gesture, and left.

Raghman smiled. ‘A smart young woman.’

‘Leave her alone,’ Elim hissed, losing his temper.

Raghman laughed. ‘Or what, Elim? What could you do if I wanted to hurt her?’

He spared a short glance at the promenade to make sure nobody was watching them, then he grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall. ‘I don’t know, but you will regret it.’

Raghman considered him and smirked. ‘Dear me, you really do have feelings for the girl. Take care, Elim, such notions got you in trouble before.’ She freed herself from his grip with ease. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not planning to hurt Dukat’s daughter. Skrain is an idiot who will bring Cardassia to ruin, but at the moment, he is useful for me.’

Elim stepped back. ‘Is that all that matters to you? Dukat sold Cardassia to the Dominion, they won’t let our people go easily.’

Raghman sneered. ‘Unfortunately you are right. What he did is unforgivable, and the price we will pay for it will be high. But Cardassia will get out of this situation. Just now, I need Dukat to do what is necessary. Let’s go to your quarters, Elim. This is not the place for this conversation.’

.

Elim moved reluctantly aside and let her enter. He knew how this visit would end, they always followed the same pattern.

‘You have plans to get rid of the Dominion presence on Cardassia. I’m afraid you won’t have much support for that at the moment, and even if you will find some, the Dominion is very efficient. All my former contacts are dead.’

‘Unfortunately you were not very discreet when you contacted them. Believe me Elim, there are many who do not share Dukat’s enthusiasm for Cardassia’s new masters.’

‘Allies,’ he corrected cynically.

‘Allies who believe they are gods and we are little more than slaves. Not everyone is naïve or stupid enough to overlook that.’

Elim sighed. He had long lost his confidence in the intelligence of the masses, if he ever had it. ‘I still doubt you will manage to raise resistance on Cardassia, and even if you do, the Dominion will eradicate it as soon as they find out about it.’

Raghman smiled. ‘You underestimate me and my people. It will require patience, yes. This is not the right time for open resistance. But I haven’t fought against the Bajoran underground for years without learning something. When the time comes, we will reclaim Cardassia.’

Perhaps she was right. He hoped so, even though he wasn’t sure that Raghman was better than Dukat. Raghman at least wouldn’t sell Cardassia to the first bidder who promised her to make her Supreme Legate. At least he hoped so.

Raghman shook her head. ‘Elim, we both know Skrain’s only loyalty is to himself. Cardassia is only an abstract concept to him; he doesn’t really feel anything for our people. We are different. We both once gave an oath to protect Cardassia, whatever it takes. It was not an empty vow.’

He looked down. ‘I only know that about myself.’

She walked to the replicator and ordered a cup of tea. ‘Your father shared Shri’tal with you.’

He did not answer her and moved to the window. What could he have said to her?

‘He told you.’

She did not sound surprised, not even worried. It enraged Elim. “That doesn’t bother you?’

She smiled. ‘Should it?’

‘He called you an abomination!’

‘I’m glad to hear he despaired in the face of his death. I always hoped he would die a broken man.’

The careless way she said it surprised Elim. He had wanted to hurt her, and had expected this revelation would do it. He knew she had loved and hated Tain. Tain had tried to kill her, and had her father killed. She had told Elim often enough that she wanted to destroy him. Tain’s death, the Order’s downfall… had Raghman had a hand in that?

‘He told me to eliminate you.’

‘Madness of a dying old man.’ She smiled at Elim. ‘You know you will never kill me, Elim. You will never even hurt me unless I want you to.’

Elim clenched his fists. ‘You seem to be very sure of that.’

‘I am.’ Raghman lent against the wall and stretched out her arms to the sides. ‘Come on. Why don’t you do it? Enabran was right, I’m an abomination. A perversion of nature. I should have never existed. I will destroy Cardassia as you know it and build a new empire from its ashes. I will create a world in my image and will be praised as its god on the seventh day. What about it, Elim? I still feel very alive. Do you like my plans?’ She laughed.  

Elim watched her, feeling helpless. He did not want to kill her. Just to imagine it was… unimaginable. Part of him knew this wasn’t natural, but he already started to rationalize his decision. Why should he listen to Tain? He did not owe the man anything. Perhaps Raghman had been right and he had talked in madness. Raghman’s words faded. She had not really meant them anyway. She only said these things to provoke him.

Raghman smiled, moved towards him and stroked his neck. ‘I understand your grief for your father, Elim. He was not a good man, but he was your father. But you have to understand he brought it on himself.’

‘I know that,’ Elim replied, upset, and tried to avoid her touch.

Her hand followed him and grabbed his chin. ‘You just don’t always think before you act.’

Elim avoided her eyes. ‘I should kill you,’ he said without conviction. ‘One day, you will take revenge for what my father did to you.’

Raghman stroked his ridges. ‘I already have all the revenge I wanted. It would be silly to continue this feud further. You don’t have anything to fear from me. Not you, not your mother, not your partner or your children… your family is safe from me. Safe in my shadow.’

Elim leant into her touch. ‘What have you done to me?’

She smiled coldly. ‘I took the clay and burned into a form that pleased me.’ Her hands moved below his shirt and over the ridges on his chest. ‘I looked at my creation and was satisfied.’ She opened his shirt. ‘I want you to know that I made you what you are. I own you. I took you as my compensation for the sins of your father. Now that you are mine, you no longer have to suffer for them.’ She looked into his eyes. ‘Do you understand me?’

Elim understood her, even though he wished he didn’t. He nodded.

‘Good. Now, show me that you remember what I taught you. I not interested in fucking a puppet.’

### Cardassian capital, 2376

Elim breathed in the familiar sweet scent of the orchids. It was hard to imagine that there had been nothing but rubble in this place only a year ago. Now this place was a garden the like of which Cardassia hadn’t seen in decades.

The woman who sat down next to him on the bench looked older, but regal. She was still a beautiful woman.

‘This place is beautiful,’ she said. ‘Like a dream.’

‘Sometimes I think the past years were the dream,’ he said. ‘A nightmare we have all just awoken from.’

Palandine smiled sadly. ‘I’m sure many wish that were true.’

‘I heard your daughter Kel got a place in Tanrith. Literature, if I’m not mistaken?’

She studied him. ‘I see you are still well informed, as always. Yes, she decided to study literature and history.’

‘History.’ He smiled dryly. Which irony. ‘That has become a challenging subject.’

They looked at each other. It was an odd feeling to find a person at the same time incredibly familiar and strange. Many years ago he had loved Palandine enough to kill her husband. The memory of this feeling was still there but that was all it was… a memory. He wondered if she felt the same way.

‘Why don’t we walk a little together?’ he asked, and held out his hand.

Her fingers felt warm through the leather of his gloves when he helped her up. They walked silently along the path that wound through a jungle of plants. While they walked Elim caught himself not thinking of the woman beside him, but of Cardassia. What would happen to their people now that so many of the old structures had been destroyed? Was this the new Cardassia, feral and chaotic? He could not imagine his people living that way. Cardassians needed freedom, yes. Palandine had once taught him that freedom would always find its way, even in the most rigid society. The Oralian Way had survived the Empire, against all odds. But freedom was not everything.

The people needed a government they could trust, a government that protected them and cared for them. Their people needed more than leaders like Dukat and Raghman, who were only interested in their own gain in the end. Raghman claimed to act in Cardassia’s interest, but Elim doubted that. Admittedly, she had done more for Cardassia than Dukat so far. The garden they were walking through was proof of that. When had there last been gardens on Cardassia? Now they stretched to the horizon, fields of ripening crop, gardens full of fruit, in places that had once been deserts. Under Raghman’s leadership Cardassia was awakening to new life. But would she be satisfied with that role? What would happen when the admiration of the Cardassians faded, when they no longer followed her advice without question? Would the council she established turn against her? Or Central Command, half of which was made up by Antamon these days? The elected Detapa, a parliament that had power only on paper?

The peace and prosperity his people enjoyed at the moment were only an easily broken illusion. A necessary part of the government was missing, the one that had always ensured stability. Like all other parts also this part would have to renew itself so that Cardassia could survive and grow.

‘Where are your thoughts, Elim?’ Palandine laid her hand on his arm. ‘I think they are far away.’

‘On the contrary, my dear. I’m thinking the same thing you do – this garden is a dream.’

Palandine lowered her eyes. ‘I hope it will remain a dream.’

Elim put his hand on hers. ‘I promise you, I will do everything in my power so that this garden will never lose its beauty.’ He smiled in amusement. Hadn’t he promised someone to return to working as a gardener?

Palandine looked up to him and he knew she did not need to be a telepath to know what he was thinking. The love might be gone, but there was hardly anyone who knew him better, not even Raghman. ‘I know you will,’ she said.

### Starbase Sandun, 2373

‘These children are not just telepaths, are they?’ Elim looked down at the training area, where two teens were fighting each other with unnatural speed.

‘What clever deduction.’ Raghman looked up. ‘What I told you is true, only that my telepathic talent would have never woken without my father’s genetic manipulation. He took the Romulan genes of my mother and his own to create me… but he changed them to make me more than the sum of my parts. Some of them are telepaths. Some are soldiers. Some are scientists. They are smarter, stronger, further evolved than average Cardassians… all that was necessary was a little push.’

‘It did not work on Earth.’

‘No, but we are no Humans. We are Cardassians. I did not raise these children to rule our world. I want them to be part of our society, a useful part. They know that, and they accept their place. We are Cardassians. We know that the common good is above individual interests.’

‘Even above you?’ he sneered.

The question seemed to surprise her. ‘I’m just an instrument, Elim. I have to do my part, and I will. All I do, I do for Cardassia. I thought you knew that by now.'


	11. Chapter 11

### Deep Space Nine, 2373

Raghman pushed into the holosuite alongside him before he could prevent it. ‘I’m curious,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you start your program? Don’t worry, I promise you will hardly notice I’m here.’

Elim froze and looked at her. He decided she was really serious. Well… With a swift motion, he inserted the crystal into the interface. ‘I can’t promise the same will be true for the program,’ he said spitefully. He was too angry to think about what he was doing. The disbelief in her face surprised him and he realized triumphantly that she really had not known what he had just done. He could see the exact moment she realized it.

‘Stop the program!’

Elim laughed and moved back when the first soldiers appeared. ‘Too late.’ He knew the program would not stop until the first half was complete, not even on his orders. Pity that he hadn’t _thought_ of this before.

She realized it now. Her face became blank and for a few seconds she stood completely still. When the first hologram attacked her as it was programmed to do, her stillness suddenly turned into motion. She moved so fast Elim barely saw what happened. A few seconds later the five soldiers were dead. Elim stared at the bodies. That should not have been a surprise. He looked up.

‘That was… unwise.’

She looked at him. ‘What?’

A moment later the door opened and new soldiers appeared. They were significantly faster than their predecessors. Elim was lucky most of them immediately attacked Raghman, otherwise the fight would have been over quickly. Even with her help it was a lot more difficult than usually. He was surprised that he could hold his own against them. It almost seemed as if they slowed down after a while, although he knew that could not be true. They were programmed to get better, not worse. Somehow they managed to defeat the seven soldiers together.

She did not repeat the mistake to relax when the bodies disappeared. Her initial anger had transformed into cold determination. She almost seemed to enjoy this.

The next group consisted of ten soldiers and they again were stronger and faster. He managed to eliminate two of them, but the third hit his knee with a kick that would have broken his kneecap if the safety protocols hadn’t been activated. As it was, it only felt like it.

He fell down and two of them were immediately at his side and twisted his arms on his back. Raghman managed to fight a bit longer. At first the soldiers’ attacks did not faze her at all, but as the fight continued that suddenly changed. He noticed her astonishment when one of her opponents kicked her and she stumbled back for the first time. She obviously had not expected it. In the end she was outnumbered and they overwhelmed her. ‘What in the fire caves did you do?’ she gasped, out of breath.

‘I programmed them to adapt,’ he answered with some satisfaction.

‘You mean you programmed the program to adapt. Are you completely out of your mind?’

He thought about the distinction. She was right of course, not the soldiers, but the main program evolved. In every way. So what had happened? The program had changed to be able to defeat her, and successfully, but how? She was an unexpected player, and she did not have the implant to simulate the pain of real injuries. Because of that the kicks and punches of her opponents had hardly had an impact in the beginning but that had changed. Why? ‘You have an implant,’ he realized. He knew the crystal contained some Obsidian Order data, among other things the access codes for his implant. ‘Of course you have one.’ Elim laughed. His father had hated her so much; of course he had made sure she had an implant that could not be removed before he sent her to Mantissek. She had probably managed to reprogram it.

“You think you are so smart,’ she hissed. ‘It’s just a matter of time, and it was completely harmless, until your cursed program.’

Elim continued to laugh when the soldiers dragged them into the interrogation room. He loved the irony that she had been accidentally defeated by a program that had been meant for him. Of course it would have never worked if he had designed it with the intention to harm her.

‘What’s the purpose of this farce, anyway?’ she asked as the soldiers tied them back to back to the rack on the ceiling. ‘I could not get that from the girl’s thoughts.’

His satisfaction turned into rage. ‘I told you to stay away from Ziyal!’ Now he understood why she had followed him.

‘And I told you I don’t care what you want. Answer my question. What’s the meaning of this?’

She ignored her situation completely, which was almost admirable.

‘You should know, after all you caused it.’

‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’ She gasped when their implants activated but she did not scream. Elim knew it was just a matter of time. He would enjoy it.

‘You changed me so much that I’m losing control!’ he raged. ‘This is your fault! If there was another way…”

‘You are doing this to condition yourself… that’s delicious, Elim.’ She laughed until the pain killed her laughter.

‘I don’t see what’s so funny,’ he hissed. ‘I killed three men and it would have been five if not for O’Brien! Just because I touched a substance that hardly affects us according to you!’

‘That is indeed odd,’ she mused. ‘Admittedly, the substance can cause a certain loss of control… it should not induce murderous impulses, unless…’ She stopped as if surprised by her own conclusion.

‘Unless what?’

‘Unless they were already there, of course. How remiss of me, I should have thought of that.’

‘What?’ Her words unsettled him.

‘The genetic enhancements did not cause your problem, Elim,’ she said vindictively. ‘It’s the subject. You. For some reason I thought you have to force yourself to use violence. Absurd. I should have known that was part of Enabran’s conditioning.’

‘I don’t understand what you are trying to say.’ Elim knew immediately he was lying. He knew it very well, he just didn’t want to admit it.

Raghman laughed. ‘What’s so difficult to understand? This is what you are, Elim. Your aggression is completely natural; it’s part of who you are. You only suppressed it before. Now you are more vigorous, stronger, and it’s not as easy as before.’

‘I killed three men!’

‘And it was fun, wasn’t it? Just like old times. You have killed before, Elim.’

Elim took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. ‘Not just because I wanted to and I could.’

‘The drug does cause a certain lack of control.’

He laughed incredulously. ‘Is that supposed to mean I kill people when I drink a little too much Kanar?’

‘If you are honest, can you really say you would not have done it before if you had the opportunity? You knew there would be no consequences.’

Would he have done the same in the past? Elim shivered. He had to admit that he could not completely deny it. There had been a time when he had enjoyed giving in to his violent impulses.

‘It’s not the same…’ he croaked. He had been young then, rash, thoughtless… he wasn’t that person anymore. Or was he again? The thought frightened him. ‘Even if that were true… I cannot give in to that.’

‘That’s why you created this,’ she said with disgust. ‘How wonderful.’

She screamed when the program finally increased the intensity of the pain. Elim smiled. He did not care about his own pain. He had been so angry after what had happened on Empok Nor that he had limited his ability to influence the program, and now he was very happy about that. He knew she would have forced him to end the program if it had been possible.

‘You are a fool,’ she said when she was able to catch her breath. ‘There are other ways… I guess it’s mine and Enabran’s fault… why didn’t you come to me?’

Elim scoffed. ‘Why should I? What reason did I have to think you’d help me? You caused this!’

‘Not on purpose!’ she screamed. ‘Did you really think I would let something like this happen on purpose? Increasing aggression was the reason that my father quit the program! Do you think I would have continued it if I hadn’t solved the problem?’

‘I have no idea what you think, or what your father thought,’ Elim replied angrily. ‘To be honest, I am convinced he was completely insane.’ It was the absolute truth, and he regretted his words the moment he said them.

She was quiet for a moment. ‘So this is what it sounds like when you are honest for a change,’ she said then, sounding amused. ‘Perhaps I should have you tortured more often.’

Elim clenched his fists. He was so enraged he completely stopped listening to her when she wasn’t screaming in pain.

When the program finished, they were both exhausted.

‘I assume you want me to return to Sandun so that you can correct your mistake,’ he snapped.

She leant against the wall and studied him. ‘I can’t change it now,’ she said. ‘We can change the personality of children, but not of adults. But this… this farce…’ She swept her hand around the room in a gesture of disgust. ‘I shouldn’t help you. I should let you go on like this. Believe me, I wish I could.’

‘Oh, I believe you. Why don’t you?’

‘It’s too dangerous. This, it won’t work forever. You wrote the program so that it will adapt? Great, unfortunately, you will also adapt to the program. It could be interesting to study how this would end, but I would prefer to postpone this experiment to another time, because I doubt it will end well.’

Elim got up and supported himself against the wall. ‘If you have a better solution, I’m listening.’

She stared at him and he had no idea what she was thinking. Maybe she was finally considering killing him. He had never really understood why she let him live on Mantissek.

‘Vulcan meditation techniques,’ she said at last. ‘I will send you instructions.’ She pushed herself away from the wall and went to the door, where she stopped. ‘You want to know why I left you alive? Out of the same reason Enabran always claimed to have, Elim. The only difference is, he lied when he said it.’

Elim took a few deep breaths when she had left. After that, he punched the wall and laughed helplessly. He hated her, and for the first time in ages he could not think of one single reason why he shouldn’t.

### Starbase Sandun, 2374

‘You haven’t answered me so far,’ he said. ‘If what you say is true…’

She laughed. ‘We have different opinions about what is best for Cardassia, Elim. But I concede… you want to help Sisko to bring the Romulans into the alliance. An admirable endeavor. You are right, the Dominion is surely planning to annex the Romulan Empire. The problem is, all my contacts who could acquire such proof are too valuable to sacrifice them for this. They provide information about the Dominion’s plans that keep my people alive.’

‘What use is that when the Dominion takes the Alpha Quadrant?’

‘Elim, that isn’t your problem. You problem is, you have started to think like a Starfleet officer. It’s a sad sight.’

He looked at her, for a moment to angry to think clearly. Raghman was always talking about her great plans, but what had she done to prove it? As far as he knew she was hiding with her children in Sandun while around her the quadrant went up in flames.

‘What would Tain have done?’ she asked.

Elim took a breath. ‘Tain would have without doubt come up with a convoluted plan to bring the Romulans into the war without solid proof. A plan someone like Sisko will never accept.’

‘Really? So why did he ask you for help?’

Elim considered that. Perhaps she was right. Sisko was a man with his back to the wall. He knew what Elim was capable of. Perhaps it was time to find out how far he was willing to go to achieve his goals.

‘Information which will be useful for us in the future.’

‘I guess we could fake a recording if we had an optolythic data rod.’ Now that he had started thinking in this direction a plan began to take shape. He already had the required information, and this was something he was good at. If Sisko would agree… Elim felt a familiar excitement. He had always loved this part of his work. Putting pieces into the place where they would do their part, one game piece after another, until the game was decided in his favor. Yes, he was good at this.

‘I can help you with that. I will want something in return, however. Bio-mimetic gel. It’s become difficult to acquire due to the war, and the production is complicated and slow. The federation has huge reserves they hardly ever use.’

‘And that are strictly regulated.’

‘I’m sure you can convince Sisko it is a fair trade.’

Elim nodded. He knew Sisko would agree to the deal because he had no choice. What Raghman wanted with the gel? He could guess. The station was full of children who had been orphaned during the war.

‘One more thing,’ she said when he turned away to leave.

He froze with a bad feeling.

‘When this is done, I would like you to stay here for a time. I think you can’t do much more for Sisko, and I can use you here.’

Elim closed his eyes. He didn’t agree, but he knew his opinion didn’t matter. ‘As you wish,’ he said, and left.

### Deep Space Nine, 2374

Elim was surprised when the Bajoran put his tray down on the other side of his table.  He was a younger man with short, light brown hair. His uniform showed that he belonged to the station’s security personnel.

‘Do you mind if I join you?’ They man did not sound hostile.

Elim studied him with curiosity and extended his hand in invitation. ‘If course not. Please.’

The man sat down and met his eyes. It looked like he had to consider his words. ‘My name is Jain Iro,’ he said finally. ‘I started here this week, but before I joined the military I studied art at Jomar university. I shared a class with Tora Ziyal.’

Elim was surprised how much the mention of her name still hurt. He drew back almost instinctively.

The man pressed his lips together. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t want to… I didn’t know Ziyal for long, but in the time we spent together we became good friends. She talked a lot about you. I thought… I hoped to get to know you, now that I’m here.’

He seemed sincere, but Elim was so surprised he didn’t know how to answer at first. He knew Ziyal had had the talent to attract remarkable people. Nevertheless, it wasn’t every day he met a Bajoran who was openly friendly to a Cardassian.

‘I’m flattered,’ he said finally. ‘I would love to hear more about Ziyal’s life on Bajor. Unfortunately she could not tell me about it herself.’

‘I would be happy to tell you what I know. I know she would have wanted that.’ Jain’s gaze was open and earnest. Were his intentions really that simple? That was very unlikely.

‘Why did you give up on Art?’

His eyes darted aside. ‘It was always my dream to study art, but I have to admit I wasn’t very good at it. I was in the military before I began my studies, and I had thought for some time about joining again. At the moment, Bajor needs soldiers more than artists.’

‘Perhaps.’ A straight, believable answer. Ziyal would have been disappointed, Elim knew that. She had been a very romantic woman, despite everything she had experienced. He had to admit Jain intrigued him. He looked forward to their conversation.

### Starbase Sandun, 2375

‘I don’t really ask for your opinion.’

‘I know.’ Elim stared into the white room in front of him. He had mostly overcome his claustrophobia, but the room still made him uncomfortable. He knew he had no choice. ‘Why? Why do you even consider me for this?’ He had no memory of being here before, but he knew it must be so. It was the only explanation for the unnatural increase in his speed and strength, and his increasing aggression. He had known this since he knew what had happened to the children.

‘I have my reasons.’

It was useless to object that he did not want this. He was not interested in genetic enhancements, on the contrary, everything in him was opposed to the idea. Bashir had once accused him of being jealous – an obvious attempt to provoke him – nothing was further from the truth. He pitied the doctor. Bashir had tried his whole life to escape this stigma, because he knew it would forever change the way other people looked at him. Not only that, he still desperately tried to appear normal. Elim knew how difficult that was; he had known it even before Raghman’s manipulations. No gift came without a curse.

The climate of Deep Space Nine had become easier to bear, but his everyday life had become incomparably more complicated.

‘I don’t want this,’ he said, against his better judgement.

‘I don’t care,’ she replied, as he had known she would.

The Antamon behind him pushed him forward as though to support her words.

‘You will thank me one day,’ she said, before the door closed behind her.

Elim laughed with helpless anger. Wasn’t that exactly what his father had always claimed? He pushed one of his guards away, knowing what reaction it would provoke. He was glad to have an enemy he could fight, even though he knew it would be futile in the end. It did not matter what he wanted. When had it ever mattered?


	12. Chapter 12

### Cardassian Capital, 2375

‘The last ships of the alliance have just left orbit, Gul.’

Raghman nodded at the soldier. ‘Good news.’

Elim twisted the ring that suppressed his telepathic abilities around his finger. ‘I still don’t understand why you refused to accept the help they offered us. We could use it.’

Raghman leant back. ‘It doesn’t make any sense to exchange the Dominion for the Federation. It might sound like a good offer at the moment, but we would soon realize the price is too high in the long run. We are Cardassians, and we will solve our problems without losing sight of who we are.’

A look at the other members of the military in the room told Elim that they were backing Raghman completely. After Damars death she had become the new figurehead of the resistance, and they looked up to her.

They believed she had lost her family because of the Dominion, like most of them. Raghman claimed to be her own daughter, and she looked young enough they believed her. Elim wondered briefly if this was what she really looked like. He remembered Enabran had once commented on her young appearance, and he had thought he sounded scared. Did she age like normal Cardassians? Probably not. He knew he felt years younger since the Antamon had changed him, and when he looked in the mirror it was no longer a middle aged man looking back at him.

It was not surprising the Cardassians idolized her. Raghman had been the leader of the resistance that had succeeded in the end. She had protected Cardassia when it needed help the most, and her intervention had prevented even more deaths. She commanded the ships that were protecting Cardassian space even now, making sure that the allies really left.

‘We will close our borders until further notice.’

‘What?’ Elim had to force himself to stay in his seat. ‘Do you know how the allies will interpret that?’

‘We have discussed it with the Romulans, and they accept our reasons. The Federation doesn’t like it, but they will do nothing. The Klingons might pose a problem, but Chancellor Martok is more moderate than his predecessor, and his closest advisor is a Starfleet officer. They gave up the colonies they took during the final phase of the war. I’m confident they will not object.’

Elim closed his eyes for patience. ‘And how will we rebuild our planet with the borders closed? We don’t have the resources…’

Raghman raised her hand to interrupt him. ‘We have resources. Enough to start with the reconstruction. We will open the borders when we can negotiate from a position of strength. It has already been decided by the Detapa and Central Command, Elim.’

A provisional government composed almost entirely out of people who mysteriously had survived the war without collaborating with the Dominion. People who in one way or another had been part of the victory against the Dominion by being at the right place at the right time. Raghman had planned this well. She had acted when Damar’s movement had been destroyed and the Cardassian people had been ready for collective resistance. Damar’s death had been very fortunate for her plans. If Elim hadn’t seen him die during a Jem’Hadar attack…

‘You have to be exhausted, Elim. Why don’t you relax for a while, and we continue this discussion tomorrow? My people have prepared rooms for you.’

He pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded.

Raghman motioned one of the soldiers. ‘Glin Korat, please escort my friend Mr. Garak to his rooms.’

Elim looked up at the man and almost expected him to pull him out of his chair. Of course he didn’t. Elim was not a prisoner, he was a friend and advisor of Cardassia’s unofficial new leader. Whatever that meant.

### Deep Space Nine, 2375

Elim moved his hand over Iro’s leg. It was fascinating how smooth Bajoran skin felt, so light and soft, so easy to damage. He stared at the other man’s hips, tempted to move forward and follow the way of his hand with his tongue. The sight made him hungry. He had to admit he was very enamored with the Bajoran. Amusing how xenophilic he had become in just a few years, when he had once been convinced Cardassia should remain pure. To be fair, he had learned a lot about Cardassia’s history since then that made him doubt this philosophy.

Iro was a brilliant conversationalist, funny, intelligent, and very handsome. They had many things in common. Elim hadn’t hesitated to agree to this relationship. It had been a great decision, it had been ages since he had enjoyed his life so much. Perhaps surprising that his partner shared his joy, but he had given Iro little reason for doubts.

‘What are you thinking?’ the Bajoran asked with a smile.

‘That I’m a happy man.’

Iro turned around and met his eyes. Elim loved it to be so close to him. He trailed his fingers over the Bajoran’s muscular chest and enjoyed the feeling of intimacy. Raghman had given him a device to block his telepathic abilities after he had almost jumped out of an airlock when the thoughts around him overwhelmed him, but he could still feel strong emotions, in particular when he was touching someone. The other people on the station were like a constant buzz in the background. He had never been able to read Iro’s thought, another reason why he enjoyed his company. Iro had a strong pagh, as the Bajorans called it. Or, as Raghman would say, he was a latent telepath who had learned to protect his thoughts.

‘I have to tell you something.’ Iro trailed his finger along Elim’s eye ridge and along his neck, distracting him from his serious expression.

Elim moved away and turned on his back. ‘Do you have a wife you haven’t told me about?’

‘What? No!’ His lover looked down at him. ‘How do you get such ideas?’

Elim laughed. ‘You look so serious. What am I supposed to think? If you were a woman, I would suspect you’re pregnant.’

Iro frowned and slapped his side. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

Elim stretched his hands over his head and closed his fingers around the bar of the headboard. ‘What is bothering you, my dear?’

Iro licked his lips. ‘Do you have to be so…’

‘What?’ Elim grinned. He knew exactly what his movements did to Iro. The other man loved  to see him like this. He grabbed the handcuffs that dangled from the bar and closed them around his wrists. He could open them at any time, but Iro liked the illusion to see him bound. He had never told him why, and Elim had never told him he already knew why. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. He hooked his food behind Iro’s knee and pulled the other man closer. ‘You can tell me later what troubles you. I won’t go anywhere.’

‘Elim…” Iro seemed conflicted.

‘Or tell me now and fuck me after, I don’t care.’ Elim didn’t want to hear what Iro had to say, mostly because he already suspected what it would be. Honesty was an overrated virtue, when would Humans and Bajorans finally understand that? Well, he should make an exception for Bashir. The man was a more talented liar than he’d ever guessed, not just genetically enhanced, but also in contact with Section 31… the fact that he had once thought Bashir a naïve fool made him doubly glad his implant was switched off now. It had made him an idiot. Not that he didn’t still enjoy their lunchtime conversations. They had just gained another… quality.

Iro growled. ‘You’re almost begging to be hurt.’

‘If that’s what you want.’ Iro enjoyed pain as much as he liked causing it, something that made them the perfect pair. Elim was usually careful, after all Bajorans were more fragile than Cardassians and Iro didn’t have his genetic advantages. Elim was healing a lot faster since he had returned from Sandun, and he was stronger now. It was not difficult to hold back, however. Iro was very open in his reactions.

‘Not today.’ Iro grabbed the lubricant and Elim concluded smugly that this discussion had been postponed.

Sometime later Iro closed the handcuffs further so that Elim would not be able to open them easily.  Elim opened his eyes lazily and studied him. Iro didn’t look happy. Why did people torture themselves like that?

‘I have to tell you something.’

He put his hand over Elim’s mouth when he wanted to say something.

‘I will gag you if you don’t listen to me.’

Elim grinned and licked his hand, but remained silent. It was useless to try and stop someone who was determined to make himself miserable.

‘I wasn’t completely honest with you.’

Elim resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he watched Iro patiently. Of course he had not been honest, and why should he be? His pity mixed with annoyance. Wasn’t there some human proverb about monsters you should not wake? Had the Bajorans no similar wisdoms? If they had, they obviously ignored them as much as the Humans did.

‘After all what happened I think you should know… I know you by now…’

No, you don’t, Elim thought regretfully. You have no idea what I am and what I’m capable of. You only know the part of me I let you see.

Iro took a deep breath. ‘We didn’t meet by chance, Elim. It was an assignment. I’m working for Bajoran intelligence.’

Elim would have liked to slap him. He gritted his teeth. ‘Your assignment was to seduce me?’ he asked coldly.

Iro looked shocked, and Elim thought that the Bajoran intelligence service was still a very infantile organization.

‘No. My assignment was to keep an eye on you. Your work is very important for Bajor, we couldn’t risk you to turn on us.’

‘And now you have reached the conclusion that I’m really working for the Dominion?’

‘No! Elim, I understand…’

‘No, you don’t!’ he hissed. His own anger met him unprepared. He had known what Iro would tell him and yet… to hear the words… they made it real, irrevocable.

Iro recoiled.

‘If you are not planning to kill me, why are you telling me this, you damn idiot?’

His lover stared at him. ‘I… what?’

‘Are you people without any common sense? Are you completely ruled by sentiment? What if I would work for the Dominion? Or for the Obsidian Order?’ Elim realized he was screaming at Iro. He surprised himself with how much he lost his temper.

‘But you don’t.’

‘And of this you are completely sure. That I don’t, and that I never will.’

Iro gaped at him. He searched for words, but did not find any. Of course he could not be sure.

Elim closed his eyes to regain his temper. Of course he had known Iro was working for the Bajoran intelligence service. It hadn’t been too difficult to find out. After all, neither had it been chance that he became friends with Ziyal. In retrospect it had been comforting to know the Bajorans had kept an eye on her, Dukat’s daughter had had many enemies. Unfortunately it had all been useless in the end. To know it and to be told by Iro were two different things, however. Now he had no longer an excuse to keep it from Raghman.

Which wouldn’t be a problem if he hadn’t started to feel something for the stupid Bajoran.

He got out of the handcuffs with a twist of his hand. ‘I could kill you and everyone would believe it was an accident. Because you all trust me so much.’

Iro regained his composure. ‘You bastard knew it already.’

‘Of course I did. What do you take me for?’

They looked at each other. Finally Iro laughed. ‘You are right, I’m an idiot.’

Elim got up. ‘I need a shower. Don’t take it the wrong way, but I need some distance.’

‘Why, if you already knew it?’ Iro called after him.

Elim hit the door after it shut. Really, he had thought his lover was smarter. But perhaps he was expecting too much of him. He could not expect a Bajoran to think like a Cardassian. You are a traitor, my dear, and you don’t even know it, he thought. Again, Elim wondered why all these fools trusted him so much. One day they would regret it. He suspected this day would come sooner rather than later.

### Breman Province, 2376

Elim turned the riding hound figurine back and forth. He had by now found out that it was made from kalendinian jade, a cystal grown into the form it would take in the end, and that was nearly indestructible. I substance that was difficult to obtain. To have a figurine like this one made was next to impossible. Tain had rarely done something without reason. To go to such effort for a decorative little trinket… some of the legates might have done it, but not Tain. Why had this figurine been in his office? What was its purpose?

Elim sighed and put the figurine aside when he heard the engine of a shuttle. When he came out of the building the shuttle was leaving, and his visitor was on his way towards him. Elim had told Raghman he needed some time to think about his future. He couldn’t bear the view of the regenerating capital, and the Antamon there followed him everywhere. Even more since he had learned to better protect his thoughts. After all he had nothing better to do than sit in his room all day and meditate. Raghman had been reluctant to let him leave, but his choice of residence helped.

His eyes moved from the nearing figure to the surrounding desert. This was one of Tain’s houses, one of his retreats. Tain had come to this place to be alone. The residence was enclosed by a force field that protected it from sand storms and the rough environment, with the side effect to keep uninvited guests away. Around them stretched one of the most uninhabitable regions of Cardassia. The Shorkara desert had been created during the wars preceding the Cardassian empire. Centuries later the radiation was still strong enough to prevent any life from growing. Neither sensors nor transporters worked here. The residence itself was protected from the radiation, and the garden surrounding it had a wild beauty. Elim’s uncle had once planted orchids in the back, and they still grew there. A single servant had taken care of it all those years, and old man who cared for the garden and the hounds. Tain’s riding hounds were vicious animals. They had only accepted Tain as their rider.

The day before Elim had invoked childhood memories by trying to ride one of them. To his surprise the hound had accepted him after several attempts, even though he had some bruises to prove that he still wasn’t very good at it. Ondal, the caretaker, had implored him to let it be, and had been more surprised than Elim about his success.

Elim woke from his thoughts to greet the man who had now reached the entrance. Akreen Talon was a young man with the demeanor and figure of a soldier. He was smaller and leaner than Elim, but his manner demanded respect. He was a former agent of the Obsidian Order, and one of Raghman’s telepathic Antamon. Elim had met him first on Sandun, and they had understood each other at once. Talon was a man like Pythas Lok, a man without family. His only family had been the Order.

‘I’m glad you could come,’ said Elim as the man entered.

Talon smiled thinly. ‘As you can guess Raghman was happy to send me here.’

The reason Elim had asked Talon to come was simple. He had achieved everything he could through meditation. To improve his new talents further he needed practice, and for this he needed another telepath. Talon was a weaker telepath than Raghman, or Elim, but he was good enough to help him.

‘Did you have the chance to find out if someone else would be interested?’

His conversations with the man had remained careful. They were seemingly of the same mind, but Talon might pretend that to lure him into making a mistake. This was another reason the man was here. Elim needed allies, and Talon was predestined. But he needed to be sure he was loyal to him.

‘Marendrial Denar,’ Talon said. ‘Raghman took her from a Bajoran orphanage, but she is pure Cardassian. Level seven. I have talked with her a couple of times, and she is very interested in meeting you.’

The Antamon had started to rank their telepaths according to their abilities, one being the lowest level and ten the highest. Level one telepaths were basically empaths. Level ten was Raghman’s level, and if it was possible to make stronger telepaths she had never allowed it. Elim wasn’t sure which level he would be, but he knew it was a high one. When he had lost control on Deep Space Nine he had sensed thoughts within the whole station. He just hadn’t been able to control it.

‘A level seven telepath would be useful.’ Elim poured them both Kanar. He liked the man. He would have gone far in the old Order. Exactly for this reason he was dangerous, however. Elim didn’t delude himself, if Raghman had the slightest suspicion that he was planning to undermine her, she would have him killed or remove him in a less pleasant way.

Be that as it may, he had no choice. Cardassia needed him and he had always done what was best for Cardassia. He toasted Talon. With a little luck he wouldn’t be alone in this endeavor.

### Deep Space Nine, 2375

The station was full of tension, one didn’t have to be a telepath to feel that. Elim studied his companion. Bashir’s thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. Elim had noticed the Doctor’s increasing interest in Counselor Dax. What an odd pair. A few years ago Elim had considered seducing Bashir, but it had remained an idle fantasy. In retrospect that had been wise, but Bashir still fascinated him, especially since he had changed so much. Elim was sure the Doctor’s early insecurity and naivety had not been completely faked, but there was nothing left of it. He sometimes wondered what this new Bashir was capable of when he was challenged. More ironic then that he had chosen someone like Ezri Dax as his partner, a woman who was no match for him at all.

‘My dear doctor, I recently realized I never told you how grateful I am for everything you have done for me.’

That got Bashir’s attention. He looked uneasy. That was expected, Elim usually didn’t say things like that.

‘We barely knew each other one year and you almost saved my life. I well remember your concern for my wellbeing.’

Bashir frowned. They hadn’t talked a lot about the incident with the implant, but Bashir had accused Elim of never telling him the truth about it. That was, of course, impossible. Still, the tenacity with which Bashir had tried to help him had surprised Elim. It had shown him what kind of man Bashir was, a man he could respect.  

‘I only did my job,’ Bashir said now.

‘You did far more than that, we both know that.’

‘Why this topic now?’ Bashir asked with suspicion.

‘What makes you think it wasn’t some random thought?’ Elim raised his hands. ‘In any case, it seems our ways will part soon. Such things should not be left unsaid.’

Bashir opened his mouth, closed it, and smiled. ‘You’re welcome, Garak. I have to admit our unusual friendship means a lot to me, too. I’m happy we met each other.’

Elim considered the Doctor. Bashir had become better at guessing what Elim really meant when he said something, but it still very much depended on how transparent he wanted to be.

‘In honor of the interesting times we lived through together, Doctor, I would like to invite you to share a holosuite program with me. Who knows if we ever get this chance again?’

Bashir immediately looked suspicious again, and Elim commended him on that. He would have been disappointed had he reacted differently. The doctor shook his head. ‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea.’

Elim widened his smile. ‘Please, Doctor. I promise you it will be worth your time. Are you not the slightest bit curious?’

Bashir was obviously conflicted but in the end he agreed, as Elim had thought he would. The temptation was too great. Bashir had tried for years to find out more about Elim’s holoprograms.

Elim exchanged a glance with Iliana, who was sitting a few tables away. He had made sure that the infirmary would only be staffed with a nurse for a few hours tomorrow. The rest was up to them.

### Cardassian Capital, 2376

Raghman stepped up behind him and looked with him at the regenerating city. Elim didn’t turn around. He could feel her, as she could him, there was no need to look at each other. Everything changed. The world below was not the world he had left. The terraforming abilities of the Antamon would turn Cardassia into the world it had once been. Soon the deserts would disappear, and with them poverty and starvation. Cardassia would turn into a paradise, and the Cardassians adored Raghman for that. If no one stopped her, she would turn into one of the God Emperors of old, uncontested and omnipotent. Her empire was one of complete control. That was the price his people would pay for this paradise, and they were unable to see it.

‘It’s glorious, isn’t it?’ she said. ‘Finally Cardassia is on the right path.’

He didn’t turn around, but her remark puzzled him. Hadn’t she sensed what he had just thought?

‘Are you not in the end happy that you have become one of us?’ she asked.

One of them? As if there was equality among the Antamon. Raghman had never planned to make him one of them. She wanted a slave, a puppet. ‘Perhaps,’ he said. ‘But it isn’t as if I ever had a choice.’

‘Of course you had a choice’, she said. ‘You decided to live, you decided to be part of this, and in this very moment you decide to stay. I have stopped planting suggestions in your mind.’ She considered him. ‘I haven’t controlled you since you reached your full potential as a telepath. You are so used to doing what I suggest that you didn’t even notice.’

Elim froze. He wasn’t sure he could believe her. ‘Why?’ he asked warily. ‘Have you finally tired of this game?’ Raghman had never given up any of her conquests, unless permanently.

She shrugged. ‘I loved my father and I hated Enabran. For years my only motivation was vengeance. I wanted to destroy him, I wanted him to lose everything that mattered to him. I wanted him to despair in the face of his defeat. All this has happened. I got all the vengeance I ever wanted, and after all this time I realized it is enough. It is no longer what drives me. In the end, he was just one man, and he is dead.’ She gestured to the city below. ‘This is was drives me, Elim. Cardassia. I want you to join me out of your own free will. Perhaps I like the challenge.’

Elim looked at the growing buildings, the renewing city. It was a beautiful city, and Raghman’s words were like this city, beautiful and deceptive. A long time ago he would have enjoyed hearing them, might have even believed them. How long had he believed Tain when he had made similar promises? He had believed him because he had wished his words to be true, just as he wished Raghman would really consider him an equal, and that she had given up on her revenge. Unfortunately, he knew better. He remembered her face on Sandun when she had sworn vengeance on Tain. Such feelings didn’t just disappear. No. Tain had been her lover once, but he had used her to kill her father and gain control of the Order. If Elim would decide to join her, she would use him as his father had used her. An inverse repetition, the perfect revenge. He did not plan to give her that.

‘I have to think about it,’ he said. He had done nothing but think in the past year, but Raghman was surprisingly patient. And why not? Her empire grew while he meditated in Breman.

‘Do that.’ She turned away and opened the door into the building. ‘Oh, and Elim…’

He already knew what she would say. ‘Yes?’

‘You can leave us, but you will never use your abilities against me. If you do, it’s your end.’

He looked down at his hands. ‘Perhaps I will work as a tailor again. Or as a gardener. It is a difficult decision. I was proficient in both.’

‘The Detapa has not yet decided on a new ambassador to the Federation. That is an alternative to consider I would support. That aside, you might want to visit Palandine to help you with that decision.’

The door closed behind her. It felt surreal. Perhaps she had meant these words as a threat, but Elim didn’t feel threatened. He didn’t feel much at Palandine’s name, except for some vague regret. She had been a mistake of his youth, and looking back he marveled how his younger self could have felt so much passion for a woman who didn’t deserve it. Years he had dreamt of the moment he would see her again, and until this moment he hadn’t had any plan to look for her. He hadn’t even known she had survived the war.

Ambassador to the Federation on the other hand… he would consider it. There was some irony to that. Elim smiled. Cardassia was changing, but some things would always stay the same. Raghman could turn deserts into arable land, and rebuild cities in new splendor, but she could not change Cardassian nature. At some point, she would have to face the truth that despite everything, she was not a god.


	13. Chapter 13

### Breman Province, 2376

It was late evening when the hound finally slowed down. Perhaps the beast was getting tired, but Elim doubted that. Hounds of this size could run for days without pausing for food or water. They were tough, tenacious creatures; one of the few species that could survive several weeks in the Shorkara. They were not bothered by the radiation. It was the lack of water that would kill them in the end. To train these hounds for his purposes had been one of his father’s most inspired ideas.

Tain had trained them to only accept two riders, himself and Elim. They would attack everyone else who tried, and an attacking riding hound was often deadly.

Elim dismounted from the hound when the animal stopped and started to dig in the sand. These hounds had only a single purpose; they were trained to find one specific place, a place that was not shown on any map, and could not be detected by sensors. He moved back when the sand shimmered and a door became visible.

The hound ran past him when it opened and gulped down the meat waiting for him in the room beyond. When the door had closed behind them Elim took off his protective suit. The hound might be able to survive the desert, but the radiation and toxic air would kill an average Cardassian without protection within hours. Who, aside from Tain, was crazy enough to live here?

He stepped into the airlock that connected the room to the inner part of the building and enjoyed the rippling sensation of the sonic shower moving over his skin. When it was done he moved to the terminal in front of the door and typed in a code that had once been Tain’s. Tain had told him that he had changed his recognition matrix before he left for the Gamma Quadrant, so that it would detect only those gene fragments he and Elim shared. He now had Tain’s security clearance, his access, his authority. This had once been the pinnacle of all his ambitions. It still felt good.

The door opened and he stepped through. Even though he had known what to expect, the sight was breathtaking. In front of him, like an enormous honeycomb, racks of a data center stretched out above and below him, reaching miles down into the earth. He was on a bridge leading to the middle of the facility. The lift there would take him into its heart. This was one of the three centers that stored the knowledge of the Obsidian Order. Everything the Order had ever found out or acquired had been preserved here. A smaller data center had been in the capital, but Alon Ghemor had destroyed it when he couldn’t gain access to it after Central Command had been overthrown. Elim had visited it together with Tain a long time ago, but there was no comparison to what he saw here. The capacity of this facility was gigantic; there was nothing comparable anywhere else in the Union. It got its energy from an underground generator connected to the core of the planet. More than that, it was old. Most likely it had been built when the Order had been founded, and it had been expanded ever since. Elim felt almost dizzy when he moved across the bridge. This was not just a monument; it was the heart of the Obsidian Order, the center of its power. With this power in his hands he could rebuild the Order. He could create a new Cardassia.

When the lift moved down with dizzying speed, Elim leant against the wall and took a deep breath. Raghman must never find out about this. If she did, Cardassia was lost.

The lift stopped, the door opened, and for a moment it felt as if he had moved twenty years into the past, back to a time when he had still been the second-most powerful man in the Order. Only, that was no longer true. There were no superiors left.

A man came towards him and bowed. ,Mr. Garak. We have been expecting you.’

### Breman Province, 2377

‘When I offered you the services of my Antamon I did not do it so that you could use them against me.’

Elim turned around to face Raghman. He had known this confrontation was inevitable. To be honest, he had expected it earlier. ‘You mistake my actions.’

‘Do I?’ She came closer and her eyes narrowed. ‘You have learned to block me.’

‘You didn’t expect that, did you?’ Elim smiled. ‘And here it sounded so generous when you said you had changed your mind and were no longer interested in manipulating me. You never expected I would break through your conditioning.’

This was the ultimate test. He had practiced with his telepaths, but all that training couldn’t have prepared him for this attack. Raghman was by far the strongest telepath they had, by luck or design, and she would not hesitate to hurt him. He moved back, knowing that this would become a lot more difficult if he let her touch him.

She had lied during their last conversation, but within that lie there had been some truth, even though she had not known it then. He could match her strength. He did not know how that was possible, but he did not care. It was a mistake she would come to regret.

To his surprise she abandoned her attack sooner than he had expected. He kept his distance, suspicious. In the end, she moved away and laughed. ‘You really did it. Congratulations.’

Her reaction worried him. He had expected that she would be angry. He had hoped she would be angry. When she was calm, she was planning.

She turned away from him and went out on the balcony of the house. The desert surrounding them had not changed, and most likely never would. Breman was too toxic even for the terraforming abilities of the Antamon. Good that it was so.

‘You have managed to get my telepaths on your side. I admit I hadn’t expected that.’

‘You taught them that their loyalty should be to Cardassia. I merely showed them that Cardassia is more than the vision of a single person.’ It had been a dangerous gambit, but he could have never reached his goal without the telepaths. He needed them. Cardassia needed them. After he had helped them understand that, it was inevitable that they were on his side.

‘It seems I did.’ She sounded amused. ‘Everyone makes mistakes. What now? Are you planning to kill me?’

‘Why should I kill the leader of Central Command as long as she only advises the Detapa?’

‘You will never rule our people, as long as I live.’

Elim almost laughed. Was that what she took from what he had done? Perhaps he would have thought the same in her place. In the end, she was no different from her predecessors. She could not understand why he did what he did. Did she really think he would publicly challenge her? That would result in civil war. It was the last thing he wanted. ‘I’m not interested in ruling Cardassia.’

She turned around and studied him, but did not try to read his thoughts this time. ‘I believe that’s actually the truth. Look at this, you are a true patriot after all. Your father would be horrified if he could see this.’ She laughed. ‘You know, Elim, I always thought you would be a brilliant successor of your father; that you would not only be his equal, but surpass him. I can’t deny that part of me is glad I was right.’

‘You should not try to trick an expert liar, my dear. Especially when the lie is so very obvious.’ What he wanted – what he really wanted – was a balance of power. Cardassia had suffered enough from power-hungry rulers who wanted to turn it into their own version of perfection. It was time that power was divided more evenly. He didn’t expect Raghman to understand that.

She raised her hands. ‘I never expected you would outgrow my influence. It was a mistake. You beat me at my own game. I accept my defeat.’

Elim poured himself a glass of kanar. He could appear indifferent, if that’s how she wanted to play this. ‘I don’t believe you.’

Raghman chuckled. ‘I expected nothing else. You are a smart man. I will not try to kill you as long as you respect my authority. I will leave your new… organization… alone as long as it serves Cardassia’s interests. I will even support its legitimization. Why? Because I love Cardassia, even if you don’t believe it, Elim. As long as you serve Cardassia, I will let you live.’

She left, and Elim toasted her back. As long as he served her idea of Cardassia, was what she meant. He could accept that. Soon enough the new Order would be too powerful to depend on only one person. ‘New’ was of course a relative term. The Order had never really been destroyed. If anything, it had only been the head of the snake that had been destroyed in the Gamma Quadrant. The body of the snake was too large to disappear so easily. The Order would likely have recovered anyway, in time. Elim had only accelerated the process – and telepaths were a welcome addition.

He would protect Cardassia from itself; that had always been the true obligation of the Order. His father had failed at this task, because his own reputation had been more important to him than the good of Cardassia. Elim would not make the same mistake. The people might adore heroes like Dukat, Damar or Raghman, but it were others who really cared about their interests.

Elim turned around when his second came in. Talon was loyal, loyal like none of his father’s protégés had ever been. Elim knew this, because he knew his thoughts. His father could have never done what he would do. He smiled. Now he only needed some new occupation that did not interfere too much with his time consuming personal interests.

### Sandun, 2375

Raghman studied the diagrams and equations on the screen. ‘Are you sure this is everything?’

Kressa nodded. ‘He had encrypted this data very well. Unusually well I have to say, but we already know the doctor is special.’ She smirked. ‘It was no problem for me.’

‘I had not expected it to be.’ Raghman moved her finger over the formula. ‘You took care of this.’

‘As we discussed.’

‘Good. I will pass this on to Dr. Eknaar. You should return to the station. Make sure there are no… complications.’

Kressa bowed and turned away.

‘Oh, and Kressa… well done.’

She smiled. ‘There is only one, Gul.’

‘Indeed,’ murmered Raghman, occupied with the molecular structure. It did not bother Kressa that she did not reply with the customary answer. She knew her destiny. She did not need reassurance. She was but an instrument. As were they all.

### n.d.

Garak had been playing Kotra since he was a child. Mila had taught him the game, and for a brief time, with the innocent ignorance of a four year old child, he had believed he was good at it. Mila had known how to move the pieces, but he now knew that she had never really understood the game. As soon as Elim had grasped the rules of the game he had won against her with increasing ease. Or perhaps she had let him win to make him happy as Tain had once suggested. His pride of his prowess had only lasted until Tain had one day surprised them at their game. He had watched them for a while, then had pushed Mila away impatiently to move her pieces for her. With a few sure moves he had decided the game in his favor.

After that, he had decided that it would hurt Elim’s education to play against an inferior player such as his mother, and had frequently invited some of his acquaintances to play against the boy. Tain himself had rarely played against his son, and usually won so fast that he had come to the decision that his effort was futile. It had taken a long time until Elim had won another game, and by then he had a more realistic view of his capabilities. It had not surprised him that Tain no longer played against him when he was older. He knew his father hated to waste his time.

By now, he thought himself an acceptable Kotra player. He usually won, but unfortunately that had little to do with aptitude. The younger generation of Cardassians no longer knew how to play a good game. They were prone to obvious, uninspired moves and their strategies were repetitive and unoriginal. Sometimes he wondered what that meant for Cardassia. Surely all his people could not have become so stupid in only a few years? He sometimes remembered his father’s friends with fondness, who had once won against him so easily. If they had more people like them… But that was a foolish thought. Times had changed, and he had to deal with what he had. They might be poor Kotra players, but they had other talents. Perhaps to play the game masterfully wasn’t as important as Tain had always claimed. Perhaps the worth of a player was mostly defined by the weakness of those he played against. The thought amused him.

Elim had never played against Raghman. She had never asked him to, and he had been glad she had not. Sometimes he wondered if she knew how to play the game, but when he thought more about it, he knew it was ridiculous to question that. He was sure that to play against her would be a challenge. Part of him wondered about the outcome. It had been a long time since he had played a really interesting game. Perhaps it would be worth it.

.

Raghman had been playing Kotra since she was a child. She had always thought it was a very boring game, because she always won. The reason, of course, was that she could read her opponent’s strategy from their thoughts. It had amused and at the same time troubled her father that she won against him, and he had challenged her again and again, only to lose again. She had played against him to do him a favor, not because she enjoyed it. She loved her father because he loved her and would never hurt her. That was an absolute truth she had never doubted, because it was obvious in his mind.

She had never lost a Kotra game until she came to Bamarren and met Enabran Tain. He was her equal among the boys of the institute, and she could not read his thoughts. That had fascinated her. Obviously he was intelligent, talented, and worth her attention. She wanted him to lose control and to betray what was behind all the barriers he put in her way. She had thought sex would be an easy way to achieve that. It hadn’t really worked. During all the time she had known Tain she had only managed to touch his thoughts once, and she had wasted that opportunity. It had taken her years to understand what he was thinking.

Enabran had told her that her father had tried to kill her once. She had immediately known this was a lie, because she knew the truth like the back of her hand. She had forgiven him, because she had known he was jealous. It had been a mistake, she knew that now.

A long time ago a baby in deadly danger had used its talents instinctively to protect itself. Years later a young woman had done the same. She did not remember the first time, and ignored the second until the truth became obvious. Enabran could not kill her, as much as he wanted to. As the pragmatist he was, he had instead used her to his advantage.

He had done his best, but in the end she had won the game against him, because she always won. It was not the fault of her adversaries. She always chose intelligent, talented opponents, and most high-ranking Cardassians were excellent players. It was just a law of nature. She was superior to them. She had been made that way. All her experience had only ever confirmed that.

Raghman had never played Kotra against Garak. She knew from his thoughts that he was not a very good player, and she didn’t want to waste her time. However, by now she could no longer read his thoughts. Maybe things had changed. The thought amused her. He probably thought that made him her equal. A vain, predictable move. He planned to walk in his father’s footsteps, and she doubted he could fill them, but she enjoyed to see him try. He would most likely fail at the attempt. If not… she had always enjoyed a good challenge, and she had no doubt she would win this game, too.

### Deep Space Nine, 2380

The station hadn’t changed. People had changed, but the identities of the command staff changed little of the atmosphere. Bajorans, Humans, and dozens of other species lived remarkably harmoniously together. Only Cardassians were missing. If Raghman got what she wanted, that would change soon. Surprisingly, there were Bajorans who agreed. The two people Elim had met with earlier today belonged to that group.

Vedek Jerald and Professor Regara were members of a movement that thought it would be a huge mistake if Bajor joined the Federation. A movement that was even willing to negotiate with Cardassia to prevent that. Elim knew such talks would not be easy. Central Command wanted Terok Nor back, they didn’t try to hide that. Terok Nor was not only an access point to the wormhole and the profitable trade related to it. Terok Nor was also a base close to the Federation border. It had been five years since the war had ended. The Federation might think Cardassia was still recovering from the war, and the Obsidian Order had done its best to ensure it stayed that way, but the truth was, reconstruction was no longer an important issue on the new government’s agenda. The Cardassian fleet had long since been rebuilt.

Elim leant against the railing of the promenade’s upper level and looked at the stars. One of them was Bajor’s sun. Not far away was the former demilitarized zone, Cardassian colonies the Federation had never returned to the Union. Planets that had once been in Cardassian space. It would make things a lot easier if Bajor chose to cooperate with them.

He knew the station’s security was watching him. He thought it was entertaining. How could you view adversaries as a challenge whose thoughts were obvious to you? Telepathy made his work a lot easier, especially because no one expected it.

He knew it would not stay like that forever. Someday soon the Tal’shiar or Section 31 would find out. So far, however, their enemies had no idea what they were up against.

‘Garak!’

Elim turned towards the voice. It did not come as a surprise to see this man pushing his way through the visitors of the promenade to get to him. Really, he had expected him sooner.

‘I wasn’t aware you are on the station,’ said Julian Bashir a little bit out of breath. He studied him, as if Elim’s look could give him all the answers he had not gotten in his letters. Perhaps it could. Dependent on what the dear doctor knew by now about Cardassian physiology, he could at least see that Elim was all around healthy and well nourished. Not exactly what one would expect from a civilian who had been on a world poor in resources and plagued by famine and health crises during the last years.

Elim smiled. ‘Doctor Bashir. I’m sorry, I had planned to visit you earlier.’

The doctor’s thoughts were not as easily read as those of most members of his species. There were the obvious thoughts and feelings on the surface, the personality Bashir liked to show the world, and then, below that, and much more difficult to decipher, that what was most likely his real self. Elim did not try to find out more. The doctor would surely notice if he suddenly got a headache.

‘How come you are here? I thought the borders are still closed!’

‘Oh, the borders are closed, Doctor. I’m afraid I’m just an anomaly.’

‘I see. It’s good to see you. You look well.’ Bashir’s look seemed to dare him to explain that.

It amused Elim, and he ignored it. ‘How are you, Doctor? Did I miss a lot, in the time I was absent?’

Bashir grinned his crooked smile. ‘Not really. Life on this station is pretty much as it always was. Did you get my letters?’

Elim admired the doctor’s ability to appear completely open and honest. It was so easy to trust him. A very useful talent. Hard to believe that this man was capable of torturing and killing a member of his own species, even if it was for the greater good.

‘Some of them. I have to say I was surprised to hear from you, Doctor. I tried to answer you, but unfortunately that isn’t very easy at the moment.’

‘I was worried about you.’ He sounded so sincere. His whole body language was in tune with his facial expression.

‘I appreciate that, Doctor. I have to admit life on Cardassia was not always easy in the past few years, but I managed. It helped that I worked for the government.’

That answer surprised Bashir for a moment.

‘As an archivist,’ Elim added, and the doctor relaxed at the obvious lie. ‘The state archives have been greatly damaged during the destruction of the capital, as you can imagine, and the repair of the databases is a very time consuming task.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

‘There are worse problems, but it is a respected position. I’m happy to be able to use my abilities to contribute to the restoration of our planet.’

Elim smiled at the doctor, knowing that he knew he was lying despite telling the truth. Just as he knew the dear doctor was lying, for very similar reasons. And yet, despite his genetic advancements and inconspicuous look, Bashir was only an amateur. Did he really think Elim would tell him something that would be useful for the Federation? If he had been a man capable of acquiring such information, he would work for Section 31 and not for the official and much more toothless part of the Federation’s intelligence service. Perhaps it was time to change the topic.

‘By the way, I did read the book you gave me before I left. It provides a lot of interesting insights into Human mythology.’

Bashir seemed confused for a moment, until he remembered what he was talking about. ‘Master and Margarita?’ he asked with surprise. ‘Surely you realize it’s satire.’

‘Oh, of course, Doctor. It’s a remarkable work, considering it’s written by a Human. I would enjoy to discuss it with you one day.’ He was distracted when he spotted another man who was watching them from the other side of the promenade. ‘But not today. Please excuse me.’ Elim turned away and hurried towards their observer. He spared only a fleeting thought on what Bashir might make of this. There would be other opportunities to talk to the doctor.

Iro had not changed since he had seen him last. Elim stopped in front of him and they looked at each other. ‘I had not expected you to come,’ he said finally.

The Bajoran scoffed. ‘You knew I would be here when you sent that message. You knew I would have no choice.’

Elim felt a stupid impulse to grab the man and embrace him in front of the whole promenade. ‘And if you had had one?’

Iro said nothing for a while, then he looked down and answered. ‘I don’t know. Why are you here, Elim?’

He had missed Iro, a weakness he almost refused to admit. ‘Ask me again later today, and maybe I will tell you the truth.’

Iro met his eyes. What did he feel? Was he surprised, hurt? Had he really expected something different? ‘Or one of your true lies. I…’ He swallowed. ‘Very well.’

‘Times have changed, haven’t they?’ Elim enjoyed his victory, and turned towards his quarters. Iro joined him without protest. Bashir, who had followed him a few steps, watched them leave. In a few hours the doctor would know who Iro was. Elim hoped it would confuse him and his superiors. He enjoyed the thought. ‘Will you tell me the truth if I ask you?’

‘If you want to hear it.’

‘Sometimes,’ Elim replied. ‘Or you could just assume I already know it. That makes everything so much easier, don’t you think?

Iro put a hand on his arm. ‘Elim…’ There was a warning in his voice. He should have known better.

Elim took Iro’s hand and kept it, relishing in the outrage this intimate gesture incited in those Bajorans who understood what it meant. ‘I’m sure this will be an intriguing evening, my dear.’ He smiled, and in this moment, he believed for the first time what their leaders had told their people for months. This was not the end. It was the beginning.


End file.
